7 Tech Tools to Help You Stay Productive

7 Tech Tools to Help You Stay Productive Time is money. However, time can often feel like the thing we have the least of. While it isn’t possible to physically create more hours in the day, we can call on tech to help us get more done, in less time. Check out the apps below that can help you to maximise your day and claw back your time. 1. Freedom First off you have to block out all distractions. Invites to parties, emails offering discounts on the shopping you haven’t started yet etc. Freedom allows you to block the internet and social media altogether, or specific apps or websites of your choice. You simply select the device and sites, decide how long you want this to be blocked for and get to work. 2. Wunderlist The best ‘to-do list’ app out there. As well as allowing you to manage your own progress, the app allows you to share to-do lists with colleagues and assign tasks to individuals. This means you can collaborate seamlessly with your team, ensuring they are constantly up to speed and eliminating the need to constantly request progress reports. 3. Quandoo Finding a great place to eat for a business or lunch with clients can be a tricky task. Quandoo offers an unmatched choice of dining experiences from Michelin-starred restaurants to local favorites. The app uses GPS to show you the eateries in your area and lets you earn loyalty points with those you like the look of. The app covers restaurants across Europe, Asia, Australia and South America, so you’ll never be short of ideas of where to eat wherever you are. 4. Doodle Constantly caught in endless email chains with colleagues and clients trying to find a date for that meeting? Doodle solves this problem, allowing you to get a date in the diary with just one message, meaning you can spend more time on what matters â€" growing your business and keeping your clients happy. Simply suggest the possible dates, send to the participants via the app, email or iMessage and then let them instantly vote on which options work for them. Doodle does the rest, confirming the best date for everyone. 5. focus@will This app is genius. It describes itself as a ‘neuroscience based music subscription service that helps you increase your attention span by up to 400%’. And it works. Put simply, it will curate a playlist specific to you and your needs at that time to help boost your concentration and focus levels. All the benefits of a Spotify playlist without losing an hour creating it. 6. Slack Billed as the ‘email-killer’, this app does just that. It feels like a mix between email and WhatsApp and simplifies messaging with colleagues or clients. You can set up different ‘channels’ so teams or projects are kept separate and all of your documents or conversations for individual projects are neatly filed together. The app has the option to enable push notifications so you’re never out of the loop. 7. Upwork Ploughing time into a task you don’t have the right skills for isn’t productive. Upwork is the worlds largest online workplace, making it faster and easier for you to find and hire talented freelancers from around the globe. The Upwork Messenger App means you can also keep jobs moving while on the go. The app alerts you when jobs have been accepted or declined, and makes it easy to keep in touch with your freelancers. About the author: Gabriele Ottino is the CEO of Doodle, a simple way to schedule events with groups of people.

How to Measure the Length of Your Resume

How to Measure the Length of Your ResumeOne of the most crucial components of a resume is the length of it. A poorly designed resume may never make it past the desk of an employer and an averagely designed resume will be rejected immediately. So how can you determine whether your resume is appropriate for your job?First, measure the length of your resume. Write in a notepad or jot down the information in a piece of paper. Then cut out the middle. You can do this if you feel it necessary, but cutting out the middle is easier. If you are comfortable with a piece of paper being cut out by you then do it.Next, take the longest part of your resume and compare it to the shortest portion. If they are similar length, you can count that as a 'good' resume. If there is a substantial difference between the two resume portions, it is also a red flag.It is easy to see where the length of resume parts differ. The longer part is more detailed, contains more information, and has more details per sen tence. On the other hand, shorter parts are usually shorter on purpose, often just shorter words to save space.Once you have measured the length of your resume, you need to take a look at what it includes. For example, your college degree, degree courses, graduate level education, field of work experience, and related experiences are all included. However, do not forget to include any awards and certificates, which may help to move your resume into the job market. Also, do not forget to add the name of your professional association or group, if you belong to one.In part two of measuring the length of your resume, write down any personal and professional skills that may assist you with the job. However, do not overdo it. It is important to remember that a resume is not a list of all your accomplishments.Make sure to add the name of the company you are applying for and the position you are applying for. As well, do not forget to add your contact information. The last thing you want is to get the wrong job if you do not have access to your contact information.It is a good idea to check your resume after you have filled it out to make sure it reads properly. Since you may have changed it a little bit from its original form, double check that the information is spelled correctly. If the resume does not read well, then it is too late and you are looking for another job.

Personal Branding Interview Starr Hall - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Branding Interview Starr Hall - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Today, I spoke to Starr Hall, who is a public relations expert and author of Get Connected: The Social Networking Toolkit For Business.   In this interview, Starr points out the top things that people looking for a job in PR should know, explains that not all publicity is good publicity, gives different ways you can stand out and get attention, and concludes with how shes used social media to drive her own business. What are three things that everyone looking for a job in PR should know? The PR brandscape has changed, if you are not up on social media and technology, you will be left behind and without a job in this industry. You need to be passionate about taking action and follow through, PR is more about follow up than anything, you have to be willing to pick up the phone, make dozens even hundreds of calls in a day and be able to respond quick with creative ideas and new concepts, Focus on relationship building even if you don’t have a job in the industry currently, this is how PR careers are built, the stronger the relationships the more valuable you become in PR, your contact portfolio is key. Is all publicity good publicity?   Why or why not? Not necessarily, just because you get your name out there in an unfortunate situation, it does not mean the exposure is building your brand and loyal customers or clients. What is important is how you respond to negative publicity, your reaction and issued statements in a damage control situation can make or break you. For example the current breaking story with James Ray’s retreat in Arizona and the people dying and or that have become ill, if he does not have a strategic communications plan in place, he will never recover. On the flip side, if his team crafts a heartfelt response and plan to help the families, issue apologies and accept responsibility then he might have a fighting chance to recover and keep brand control. Do you believe its easier to get publicity now because everyone can become part of the media? Sure it might be easier, however your message needs to be even better and stand out from the rest, it needs to be impactful, memorable and engaging. With all of the messaging and stories out on the net and through technology and with thousands of these stories uploading every hour- how is your story or interview going to stand out? What is the unique hook that will get people to read your story vs. a front page release? I can get all the exposure I want on the internet, however if it isn’t engaging no one will read it- what good does that do? How important is it to have a highly marketable client when you approach journalists/producers? In my experience it is definitely easier to get a journalist or producers attention with an A list client, however if you don’t have a good angle or pitch- you could be representing Brad Pitt and the media will not listen unless it is of extreme interest to their audience. For example- if you call trying to get Brad Pitt on a talk show and your focus is to keep Brad in good standing with his fans so you try to pitch an update fans angle with current non profit organizations that he is involved in to get more exposure for the organizations as well, they would probably hang up on you or ask you to call back with a better angle. If you were to pitch a specific organization that has a focus to tie into a season or monthly national focus and provide a few case histories with what Brad has done for the organization and how it has changed lives, basically a before and after, now that is a story. How do you currently use social media tools to fuel your business? I am able to get massive exposure, build quality relationships and capture tons of target market contact information in less time and for little to no marketing dollars/investment. I can literally wake up one day and say- “I would like to reach 1,000 new people today with my message or offering”, traditional media might allow you to do that, however can traditional methods get that 1,000 member audience to engage with you and give you their information so that you can keep in touch? - Starr Hall has been perfecting the art of public relations since she was a teenager. She was also on the cover of Life magazine, was named the most influential woman in the craft industry in 1995, was friends with Sam Walton, and almost single-handedly created the craft industry with a series of craft conventions back in the 1950s and 1960s. She brought creativity to the heartland, and was dubbed The Martha Stewart for the rest of us in an L.A. Times feature article.   Starr has worked with corporations, non-profit organizations, authors, CEOs and associations both national and international. She has relationships with over 800 editors, writers and segment producers worldwide and has secured placement and coverage for her clients in regional, national and international newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and Internet outlets. In addition, she has secured major book, co-branding and licensing contracts for her clients. Starr is a forward-thinking, energetic, and imaginative publ icist with a tireless dedication to her clients.   She is the author of Get Connected: The Social Networking Toolkit For Business.

6 Parts of Starting an Online Business That You Are Probably Overlooking - Classy Career Girl

6 Parts of Starting an Online Business That You Are Probably Overlooking Starting a business takes some hard handy work. Online businesses are usually scalable and low investment, and now more than ever, good online businesses are based on developing a system that works alone. Although having a passive income is difficult to achieve, its highly attainable with the right tools. Before you decide to start courses of action to make a presence on the Internet, I recommend an analysis of the feasibility of your project. Most people try to start an online business without even having a vague idea of whether or not there is a target audience that is interested in that type of product or service. In other words, it is a big mistake to start by choosing the product and assuming that it will be received well. Simply because it is very interesting for you doesnt mean it will be an easy product to sell. The moral of the story: If you dont know where you are going, youll never know if you have reached your destination. With that said, once you have determined if there is a market out there for your idea (look online, talk to your target audience, and analyze the competition), there are a few steps to follow for success. However, there are some steps many people easily overlook when starting an online-only business. Weve compiled the list of the 6 most common ones: 6 Parts of Starting an Online Business That You Are Probably Overlooking 1. Purchasing a Domain Name The domain should be the name of your company or very close to it. I usually recommend GoDaddy to check domains because it is an easy-to-use interface that lets you check as many domain names as you would like to see if they are available. However, GoDaddy can be difficult in the user interface aspect, so its not necessarily the best web host to actually purchase a domain with. 2. Purchasing a Hosting Plan with Shopify There are tons of different hosting plans out there including GoDaddy, DreamHost, HostGator, and more. I use Shopify and have found it to be the best on the market for customer service and functionality. This is also where you will setup WordPress (I highly recommend WordPress if you’re just started out), so hosting is an important step. I have started two businesses and helped manage other online businesses, and hosting can sometimes be the most confusing aspect. If you ever decide to branch out and sell products on your website, trust me, it’s incredibly easy to get confused and overwhelmed. It’s best to have this functionality with one hosting service like Shopify, but if you want to shop around (and we recommend it), check out this article from PCmag for an in-depth comparison chart. 3. Purchasing a Premium Template There are tons of free WordPress templates out there to choose from, so depending on your business and budget this could be the way to go, but my recommendation is to go with a Premium template that you love right from the start. Templates are what will essentially “design” your website, so it’s important you like what you’re seeing (and naturally, templates you have to pay for are usually nicer and offer more features). It can be a big pain to work hard on designing a template to your liking and then deciding you want to change it in the future, so if you’re going to spend some money upfront, spend it here. Elegant themes and Theme Forest are both a great place to start browsing. [RELATED: 12 Online Businesses Gaining Popularity and Demand] 4. Are You a Sole Proprietor, LLC, or Inc.? This is always the part that makes people the most nervous when starting an online business, but it shouldn’t be. I always recommend starting off as a sole proprietor first so you can get a feel for where your business is going before taking the steps to become an LLC or Incorporated. You will be surprised how much your online business changes as times goes on, so before taking such big steps, start small. 5. Designing Your Website and Populating it with Content WordPress themes will typically walk you through how to design your website. In most cases, there is a tab on the left that says “Appearance” that will allow you to choose colors, menu items (the tabs you’ll see at the top of your website), and more. Actually learning to use WordPress may actually be the most time-consuming part of the whole process, so learn more about getting started with WordPress specifically here. Once your website looks the way you want it to, get some content up there. Write your “About Us” page, create a solid “Contact Us” page, homepage, and even write a blog post if you’re feeling ambitious. Eventually, you will want to create a full content strategy (more about that here) so that people will find your website when Google-ing, but for now the goal is to make your actual website as helpful and informative as possible. 6. Having a PPC Strategy As an online business, you cant expect people find your business right away. This is where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising come into play. You can get incredibly advanced with this, but when you’re just starting out, I recommend you keep it basic and pay a little bit of money to advertise. This way, you know your website is showing up in relevant searches and has more potential to be clicked by a target audience. After setting up your website on WordPress, this will be the more time-consuming aspect of starting an online business. PPC ads work through something called AdWords, so you will need to setup an AdWords account. From there you should be walked through a tutorial. Stay targeted for your first few ads if you’re on a budget. This won’t bring you as much traffic, but it will make sure that you’re spending money on people who are very interested in your niche. Below is a screenshot of what the AdWords dashboard looks like: Learn how to get started with AdWords here. Dont be frustrated if at first everything takes a long time and seems difficult. It can take several months to understand HTML and CSS and feel comfortable with WordPress. But, although it doesnt seem like it, little by little you will be improving. What once took you 3 hours can soon take you only 1 and then maybe even 5 minutes it takes patience. In the end, there are many more aspects to really optimizing your business for success, but this foundation should get you started and put you in a position to start accepting clients and learning as you go.

Writing Resume For Accounting Job

Writing Resume For Accounting JobIt is important that you put as much effort into your resume as you would any other part of your job application. As a way to boost your chances of being chosen for the job, you want to make sure that your resume is impressive enough to get you hired.One of the most important factors when it comes to writing a resume is to put in some personal information. Put in what you have done before and what kind of work experience you have. Make sure that your resume will be readable by anyone who reads it. While it may seem silly to think that someone reading your resume has to be able to read it, there are many people who don't have the best English skills.Another important element to your resume is the skills that you have that could be beneficial to the company. The same goes for your skills and interests. When considering what skills are included on your resume, think about what skills would be useful to the company. For example, if you are a person who li kes to cook and bake, put this in your resume. If you are a talented artist, include this as well.It is a good idea to research what these skills and interests are, and make sure they fit with the job you are applying for. It's a good idea to keep an open mind to see what kind of position you might be interested in, and determine if these are relevant to the job.Next, you need to create a cover letter. Create one that is interesting but not too long. Keep it short, to the point, and concise. It should outline your qualifications and abilities, and list your qualifications and abilities in relation to the position you are applying for.You can send your resume to professional organizations as well. Professional organizations, such as the American Society of Human Resource Managers (ASHR) will need copies of resumes that are sent to them. You should send yours to ASHR if you are applying for a job with their organization.You can also search the Internet to find organizations that may h ave vacancies available for you to apply for. This is a great way to get your resume out there, as many organizations will post available positions on their websites or send out an email alerting you when there is a job opening for you. Be sure to add your name to their mailing list if you are interested in a particular job posting.After submitting your resume, it is important that you send it off in a short time frame. In order to get the most out of your efforts in creating a resume, try to have it done by the deadline.

Stop Applying and Work the Relationships Rant - Career Pivot

Stop Applying and Work the Relationships Rant - Career Pivot Stop Applying Please stop applying online for positions! I have said this at least a dozen times in the last couple of weeks. It makes me want to pull out what little hair I have left in my follicle-challenged scalp. Let me explain my frustration. Contract Recruiter Last week, I had coffee with a financial recruiter. She works for one of the national recruiting companies and recruits for small to medium businesses. This recruiter primarily places accountants, financial controllers, and an occasional CFO. She told me that she gets great resumes across her deskâ€"resumes with 30 plus years of experience. She said, “I can’t get interviews for any of them. The clients are just not interested.” I had to mutter under my breath, “Why are they coming to you?” Someone with 30 plus years of experience is over 50 years of age. The only way they will get in front of the hiring manager is through a referral. Passing a resume through a recruiting service will get you nowhere! ARGH!! Stop applying and start building relationships to get a referral. Listen to the most recent episode Work the relationships! Work the relationships!…… More:Headhunters â€" Who Do They Work for? NOT YOU! Resume Writer I received an e-mail from a resume writer who was looking for advice. His question was, “What strategies can a career changer who is in mid-career use to compete against younger, more experienced veterans?” WOW!! When making a career changeâ€"a career pivotâ€"your resume is not what will get you that next position. It will be a relationship. Most of the time, someone will take a chance and hire you. In my six career changes, all have been half step career changes. I had one foot in the old world and one foot in the new world. It was always a relationship that helped me across. ARGH!! Stop working on your resume and stop applying. Go build the relationships that will take you across into your new role! More:Combat Age Discrimination with Strategic Relationships Account Manager I have been working with a gentleman who is closer to 60 than 50 years of age. He was let go from his account management position near the beginning of the year. I have had him working his weak ties dutifully. He has been reaching out to people he worked with over the last 20 years. He has been asking for A-I-R (Advice, Insights, and Recommendations). Last week, he interviewed with a company and an offer should be coming shortly. He did not fill out a single application in the past three months. He had multiple interviews during that time. A personal referral got him every interview. He has a strong internal advocate helping him at the company where we are expecting an offer. If you follow his lead, you will stop applying for jobs and work your relationships. Boy, did he work the relationships! It was amazing how many people were willing to help him. YEAH!!! (More on this story in a later blog post)Read the full story:Introverted Sales Guy Job Search â€" Case Study Over 50 If you are over 50 years of age and are looking for a job, you need to stop applying and work the relationships. If you wait for a position to be posted online, you are too late! Waiting is not a job search strategy! RANT OVER! I feel better now. Marc Miller Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above. Like What You Read? Get Career Pivot Insights! Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast Do You Need Help With ...

Will the best networker please stand up! - Sterling Career Concepts

Will the best networker please stand up! Will the best networker please stand up! You’re on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. You read that those sites represent the “new” networking. So then why aren’t you swamped with interviews? Yes, social media has created a place for itself in today’s job search and the professional networking arena, but that is in addition to the tried and true methods from the past, not in place of what you’ve done previously. Don’t get me wrong I’m not advising you ignore your online profile as my stance has always been and will continue to be that your professional online presence should be strategic and deliberate. The key is to know when to log off from the virtual world and check back in to the real world. To conduct an effective job search, you should incorporate as many of the following offline networking tools into your repertoire as appropriate: • Join a professional network and attend its networking and continuing education events. • Communicate with members of your professional network from time to time. Ask about their current projects; be a resource by helping with contacts or suggestions. • Networkers who “get it” understand that it is about give and take. Ever notice how easy it is to overlook an email in your inbox? Drop a note in the mail, or better yet, pick up the phone. With local contacts, meet for coffee, lunch, or a drink. • Identify and contact your target list of companies based on location, industry, what you read in the newspapers or trade journals about corporate expansion, acquisitions, and promotions. • Attend a job seeker’s support group. It can result in several achievements: 1) strengthen your networking through practice; 2) refine your elevator speech as you speak with others about your background; 3) share job leads; and 4) offer contacts or assistance to others. The key is to find a group with whom you are a good fit. • Get up, get out, and volunteer. You’ll give back to the community, you’ll meet people and make new connections, and you’ll feel good in the process. There is no true shortcut to effective networking. It takes hard work and persistence. Logging on to post, tweet, and connect can lead to a false sense of productivity. If that’s all you’re doing, you’re overlooking the importance of in-person networking. Contact me if you’d like help setting up and working through your job search plan. Accountability to a job search coach may be just what you need!

Job Searching - Set Goals AND SEE Them As Well - Hallie Crawford

Job Searching - Set Goals AND SEE Them As Well I was so excited to receive this email recently from a group career coaching client, Dana. Shes been in her job search mode for at least 4 months. The job she left was making her very unhappy, which put Dana in a tough place for awhile. I was always impressed by her positive attitude despite her circumstances, and her ability to take the principles we learned in our career coaching group and use them to her advantage. Youll see here below that not only did she set and write down goals, she also visualized how she wanted to feel at a new job, the qualities it would have and her new ideal salary. Hi Hallie, Today, I was offered a position with the company that I worked for a few years ago this is the position that Ive been working on since October that I wrote you about a couple of times. The salary is 2K above the figure I initially wrote on my Ideal Career Model (I later increased it by 10K), but that initial figure has been stuck in my mind.  The real irony:   Im making 2K more than my team lead at my previous company. I attribute this $19,500K salary increase to the work that we did in group identifying and writing down our goals/desired salary, etc. and the law of attraction principles your practice is based on.  I also wrote down and have been constantly saying to myself I will have a better work environment/co-workers, better manager, better salary and better work.   I know for sure that this is what I will encounter on my new job!! Thanks sooo much for your support!!! I wouldnt be having this bright future if I had not gone through your course. Best, Dana, Baltimore, MD Im pleased to share this letter with you for inspiration. Remember dont just write down your goals. Visualize them in your minds eye as well, just like professional athletes do. See your goals as well. Job Search Coach