How To Write a Cover Letter

A resume without a cover letter is like a burger without a bun. If you really wanted a job from somebody, you wouldn't send them a burger without a bun, would you? Of course not.

How To Write a Resume

Want to get yourself out of a bad situation and into a better one? A solid resume is the first step.

Maternity Leave

If you're pregnant and working learn all about maternity leave and how it works.

How to Survive Your 9-to-5

Are you frustrated with your job and would like to quit? Your boss and that co-worker really suck but you need the money, right? If you feel stuck in the daily grind, use these tips to start survive the daily grind and be happier after work.

Acing the Situational Interview

The phone rings. It’s a recruiter calling to let you know that all that hard work on your resume paid off and they’re inviting you to come in for an interview. You’re psyched up, until you hear about this new situational interviewing taking place -- now, you’re psyched out.

While situational interviews may be drastically different from what you know of standard interviews, they’re not impossible to conquer. Instead of a recruiter asking you factual questions -- such as, “So, what makes you experienced for this position?” or emotional questions like, “What would your coworkers say about you?” -- they ask situational questions. In situational interviews, the recruiter is looking to glean how a candidate handles real work situations, his or her problem-solving style and what the potential employee’s personality is really like.

To prepare for a situational interview, it’s not important to study your resume, but do study the buzz words in the job description. Look for qualifications that stand out, like time management, ability to multitask, autonomy, etc. These are key traits you’ll want to convey during your interview, and you’ll have to do so by illustrating the characteristics and giving specific examples, instead of just saying you possess them.

Snelling Staffing Services has compiled a list of some of the most common situational interview questions that a candidate is likely to be asked.

1. Describe a challenging work situation. What did you do to solve the problem, and what was the outcome?

2. Tell me about a time when you had to think on your feet and reach a decision quickly.

3. In your experience speaking with clients and customers, tell me about an instance when communication became challenging and how you overcame that.

4. Give an example of a time you were able to be amiable and warm as a communicator.

5. Describe a time when you were successful working in an unstructured environment.

6. Tell me about a time you had a conflict with a co-worker and how you resolved it.

7. Can you describe a situation in which you had to think outside the box to solve a problem for a co-worker, client or customer?

8. Describe an instance in which you have disagreed with instruction or criticism from your boss and how you approached the situation.

9. Tell me about a time in which you had to really manage your time well, how you went about doing so, and how you were able to meet your goal.

10. Can you tell me about an instance in which you were able to positively motivate others?

In preparation for the interview, candidates should read through situational questions and focus on coming up with multiple scenarios from work history to illustrate his or her abilities. Tell your stories aloud. Keep your answers on target, make the scenarios relevant to the question and focus on the positive outcome. To structure your answer, focus on the following order: situation, action and outcome. If you keep the order in mind, the story should naturally progress to become well-rounded and on point.

Ask a friend or family member to ask you questions throughout the days or weeks leading up to your interview so that you can become comfortable telling your stories. Focus on keeping your answers positive and avoid the standard interview pitfalls. Never use profanity, bad-mouth a former or current employer or lie.

Even if you’re not interviewing now, keep a running list of examples from your current employment to draw upon down the road. Once you’ve gotten your stories straight, they should be just as familiar as your resume.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

How to be a Better Boss

How is it that some managers are able to inspire top performances from their employees while others can barely extract an honest day’s work from the people who report to them? The secret is out.

According to a new survey by leading staffing company Kelly Services, an overwhelming majority of American employees want to work hard because their bosses are nice to them. As part of the Kelly Global Workforce Index, 4,000 Americans were asked to rate their bosses on four attributes -- communication, leadership, team spirit and delegation skills. American workers ranked their bosses above average in all four areas.

On a scale of 1-to-10 with 10 being best, bosses in this country received a 7.3 for delegating authority, which shows they trust their employees; and a 7.1 for creating a sense of team spirit, which shows they want morale to be good. For leadership ability, they received a 7.0; a 6.9 for communication skills.

“American managers are putting extra emphasis on motivating and engaging their employees because they know that a content and motivated workforce will reduce costly turnover and will contribute to the bottom line, says George Corona, senior vice president of Kelly Services. So what are some of the most effective ways American bosses are raising people's stature from mere hired hands or order takers to valued team members?

* By asking employees to complete the initial screening of potential job candidates -- to make sure the person hired will be a good fit with the team;

* By consistently seeking input from employees, and acting on their suggestions for improving productivity and efficiency;

* By resisting the urge to micromanage -- leaving it up to the employees to determine the best way to complete their assignments.

And here are some innovative ways they are encouraging employees to get out and have fun together:

* Sending employees to team-building workshops where they are dependent on each other to complete a goal, like to climb a mountain, sail a ship, run an obstacle course, etc.

* Encouraging monthly get-togethers where employees can put work aside for an hour or two and are given the opportunity to socialize.

Overall, American bosses come in second only to Mexico when it comes to being the best supervisors in world. The industries where bosses get the highest accolades are business services, the sciences, pharmaceutical and IT.

Courtesy of ARA Content

How to Ace a Job Interview

Finding a job out in the real world seems to have gotten tougher. Fear not, we've compiled our tips on how to help you through this gauntlet called The Interview.