How to Secure Top Jobs in the Worlds Best Companies

How to Secure Top Jobs in the Worlds Best Companies Corner offices of the best companies in the world are without doubt among the most coveted jobs. It takes years of hard work, planning, learning, and observing to finally get to the top rung. Getting a C-level job is very tough, and you have to prove your worth in a sustained, compelling and outstanding manner to be considered. They are not for everyone. It is inevitable that you have to build your personal brand and grow in stature to fill the big boots. So, how exactly do you go about it? What are the traits that CEOs, employees, and investors look for in their C-level leaders? In addition to having a deep, multi-dimensional and intuitive understanding of the company and its sector, leaders are also required to inspire, motivate, and invigorate all those who look up to them. We all know that age is not relevant any more when the top jobs are up for grabs. If you have proved your mettle and managed to make an impact during your career, no matter how long or short it has been, you are likely to be invited to discuss such a role. What are the other things that you must necessarily and positively do on your way to the C-suite? Manage Crises Effectively The best leaders are the ones who manage to keep the ship afloat during turbulent times. Crisis management is not easy and calls for a cool and calm head. If you have something in your resume that shows your excellent risk assessment and troubleshooting skills, you have a good chance from the word go. The most revered leaders are those who have managed to turn around the fortunes of their companies and conglomerates. If you are put in charge of turning around a department or a company, especially early on in your career, then take it and use it as an opportunity to prove your worth in no uncertain manner. The learning, confidence, and self-awareness that you attain from dealing with a terribly difficult situation will be immense. You need to motivate the team members, uplift their sagging morale, rally them together as a cohesive unit, and help them to drive better results. There are no better traits that denote a true leader, so skip the comfortable, cushy postings and quickly spice up your resume with some really challenging roles. Be a Strong Communicator An effective communicator will be able to get his message across clearly and powerfully to all stakeholders. There should be no ambiguity in letting your team know what is expected of them and how you will be able to support them. Setting clear standards help teams to work together towards success. Communication is key to keeping your team in the loop regarding the achievements and victories of the organization. They need to be updated on the changes and improvements occurring in their workplace. Many bosses use an upbeat flow of messages to keep the momentum going in their respective companies.  Good news always instills positivity and optimism. Great leaders also communicate with everyone, not just the managers reporting to them. Make it a point to connect with everyone on your team and enable open channels of communication with a free flow of ideas. If your team believes in you, very soon you will find your words, ideas, and vision resonating in your department or organization. Naturally, that will make your CEO sit up and take notice. Do Not Buckle under Pressure As the climb gets steeper, the pressure is bound to rise. Never let your team know that the pressure is getting to you. Do not lose your cool, no shouting at subordinates, and no blame-game when in your CEO’s presence. No hiring and firing in the heat of the moment. High pressure situations and killer deadlines ask for immediate action, quick responses, and on-the-spot decisions. You need to take charge, be in control, communicate constantly, and update your board of directors or senior management about progress being made. Be graceful and do not forget to share credit when the job is done. Your calm demeanor is bound to earn you brownie points. Be a Good Team Player Collaboration should be developed throughout your career and becomes invaluable as you shoulder bigger responsibilities at work. As a vertical head, you may be required to work with the other execs. Ensure you get along well, contribute, and connect effectively. Your ability to drive performance and improve results by collaborating across functions will make the powers that be sit up and take notice of you. As a C-suite occupant, you will have to mesh together warring egos, incompatible tempers, and conflicting opinions. The earlier you prove to be good at this, the better your chances of landing the coveted calling card. Perspiration The value of hard work simply cannot be overstated. You need not sacrifice your family vacations and forget all about long weekends, but something just short of that is expected of all leaders of Fortune 500 companies. With meetings to attend, teams to mentor, and various crises to handle, you are left with very little time to do your job. Client calls and presentations may very well disrupt your sleep and reduce time with your son, but in the high-stakes game you are playing, sacrifices are unfortunately inevitable. Enjoy Your Role Enjoy your responsibilities and powers. You are in a position where you have to guide, help, and get involved with a lot of people. Your time is of utmost value, and a large amount of time it is spent working on others. If you do not enjoy your job and being accountable for the hundreds, if not the thousands on your team, you may very well need to reconsider the challenge you have chosen.  It’s not for everyone. Stay Young Neither you nor the company you lead can afford to age. Stay young at heart. Find time to travel and remain on top of technological developments. Enjoy the fleeting fads that happen, and know what is hot and what is not. Enjoy all the attention that is bound to come your way while simultaneously investing positively in substantive professional and personal relationships. This will help you stay grounded and in touch with the ‘normal’ life around you. Realize that money contributes to a very small portion of your happiness; there is not much connection between both. Conclusion Getting to the C-suites of the best companies in the world demands hard work and calculated nurturing of all the desirable qualities of a leader. Very few are born leaders, yet many of us can get there by the sheer power of our determination. Author: Joshua Geary is a writer and experienced blogger and regularly writes for csi-executivesearch.com. When he’s not writing about HR and hiring process about executives, Joshua enjoys reading, CrossFit and swimming in his leisure time.

Lego Resume Creator Shares Lessons Learned 1 Week Later (Interview)

Lego Resume Creator Shares Lessons Learned 1 Week Later (Interview) Leah is like a number of young, soon to be graduating college seniors. Graduation is a little over six months away (shes graduating in the winter semester) and you only have one more summer till youll have to face the harsh realities of real world obligations.  This is your last chance to land a summer internship that could decide, come graduation, whether youre employed or not. Options are scarce, and the few internships you really want, are the same ones a thousand other students are gunning for as well.  So what do you do?  How do you stand out in a pile of resumes so large they make a dictionary look like a short story? Seeing how Leah was looking for a position at creative advertising agencies, she decided to take a less conventional approach.  Building the first ever LEGO resume kit. That story, went viral last week.   So Friday, I contacted Leah on Reddit and asked if shed be willing to answer some questions for our Careertopia audience.   She happily agreed. In case you missed her story read on, otherwise feel free to skip to the interview a little further below. Leah, 20 years old, student at Northwestern University, spent a weekend building the perfect Account Services Intern. Using LEGOs Digital Designer, Leah created a minifigure version of herself, designed the packaging, and shipped copies to the agencies she hoped to intern for this coming summer. A number of big sites reached out to her including Huffington Post, Good Morning America, and more.  But I thought there was still a missing piece to her story.  What did she learn from this and how can our readers here at Careertopia benefit from it as well? Below is what she had to say. 1.              How incredible does it feel to be internet famous for creating the very first LEGO resume? Did you have a feeling this could go viral when you first shared it with Reddit? Its surreal. I have shared LEGO creations on r/lego before and its a great community. On a whim, I thought the job application aspect of the project might make it interesting to the larger reddit community, so I posted one of the photos to r/pics. Looking back, I think the fact that I was applying for an internship (as opposed to a full time job) surprised a lot of people who werent aware of how competitive it has become. Everyone also had lots of opinions about how effective the strategy would be. Ive learned more about social media and the internet from this post than I have from three years of college. Its been a fantastic experience, and Ive gotten to network with professionals around the world. 2.              When did you decide you wanted to do something more creative for your resume?   What was your thought process?  I started applying to advertising agencies this month and each seemed to have its own extra requirement or attachment; One request an essay on which two crayon colors best described me, another asked me what song played first when I put my music on shuffle and so on. When an agency requested a piece of persuasive advertising with me as the product, the LEGO mini-me was born. I thought itd be the cherry on top to send in the real pieces along with a poster advertising the LEGO me so they could actually build it. I used LEGO Digital Designer to create the figure in one afternoon, then spent the next day using a free 30-day trial of Photoshop to make the labels and poster. I quickly realized that this would be a great way to stand out at other agencies as well, and sent a kit in to a company Id already interviewed with as a follow-up (along with a handwritten thank you note). 3.              I’m sure everyone wants to know.   How did you find the pieces you needed to make the LEGO version of yourself?   Did you just have a stock pile you pulled from, or are you finding yourself borrowing from a few specific kits?   How did you package them when you were done? If you look through my reddit post history, youll see that LEGO is not a new interest for me! My family has always loved LEGOs and I grew up playing with them. My dad in recent years has started to build more seriously (including a LEGO model of the Science Center of Iowa he took to BrickWorld), so the massive bins of random pieces I played with as a kid are now organized by color, size and type in my parents basement. After designing the model on the LDD software, all I had to do was go downstairs and find what I needed. For future sets I ordered individual LEGOs from BrickLink at a low cost, so all-in-all the project ended up being very inexpensive. I found clear boxes at the scrapbook store then printed my package design out and glued it to the front. To give the box some color, I cut out blue and grey paper in the shape and put that on the inside surface. Finally, I folded the instructions to fit inside and added the loose pieces of my model. 4.              Some recruiters  feel that creative resumes are a bit…overkill, a cry for attention.    How do you balance the line of being thoughtful and creative versus looking desperate?   Have any of your potential employers suggested anything about your approach being overkill or are these recruiters just making assumptions?  The LEGO set, as with any other creative add-on Ive done for agency applications, is simply to make me stand out and make me a memorable candidate. I know that if I can get a company interested in an interview, I can walk in and let my experience and skill set shine. The interview is where you win any job, and the experience and strengths you bring to the table make the difference between a gimmick and a display of creativity.   The competition for internships has also increased greatly in the past few years. Employers now expect you to come with several summers of applicable experience by the time you apply for your first full time job post-gradution, and you never know if other student has been in more extra curriculars or has a higher GPA.   Every industry, company and recruiter is different. For most companies, this type of application might even cross the line to inappropriate. For advertising agencies, however, I felt that showing my creativity and personality would be an asset. One agency even specifically requested it. Today, all job applications are online. You attach your resume, fill in the information fields and, in some cases, even enter it in plain text. Everyone knows how to scan a resume and cover letter, so those are critical no matter how creative the rest of the application is. 5.              Have you applied for similar jobs using just your standard resume?   How has the reception compared?  I applied for several jobs in the fall and winter this year with the standard resume and cover letter. I had several interviews that went well, but Im still looking for an opportunity thats a good fit. Its a much more formal experience because most companies have a very different culture than a standard advertising agency. You need to be professional, confident and highlight your real experience and skills youve attained and focus on how you can help them. 6.              What advice do you have for someone thinking of doing something more creative for their next resume?   Would you do it again?  I would say the best advice when applying for any job is to know yourself and know your audience. If your application is genuine and you think the company or recruiter on the receiving end will love it, go for it. But if you wow them with an application or gimmick, be prepared to wow them again in the interview. I would do this again in a heartbeat I think it perfectly shows my personality and the kind of ideas I love to run with. I have other examples of this type of creative thinking that Ive displayed at my former jobs, but theyll never get to hear those if I never even get an interview. 7.              What advice would you give peers, similar to yourself,  who are looking for a job in a competitive economy?   Any lessons learned through this experience that you think would be valuable to our readers? It can get so easy to lose hope or become frustrated. Ive waited weeks to hear back that I didnt get the job, and often I never hear any news at all. The more you let your head hang or take it personally, the more your confidence is shaken and the less likely you are to shine the next time you get an interview. Its also unrealistic to apply for one job at a time. Casting a wide net, especially in a competitive internship market, is the best way to maximize your time and effort. Ive learned that the internet can be a really supportive place! Ive had marketing and advertising professionals give me great constructive feedback on my work and my career path that is invaluable.   What to Do Next Leah was a fantastic guest to interview.   You can follow her on Twitter @Pastlightspeed.

15 Common Mistakes Most People Make on Their First Interview

15 Common Mistakes Most People Make on Their First Interview There can be various reasons by which you can be rejected in interviews. It may be the incompetency or lack of appropriate qualifications for the job. But if you possess all the knowledge and the skills required for the particular designation, you may be lacking somewhere else. You may be unwillingly committing some etiquette mistakes during the interview which should be avoided. Now, let us discuss few of the mistakes: 1. Lack of Preparation and Practice: If you have not done your homework properly, it is more likely that you will fail to impress the interviewers. You should be aware of your strengths and the reasons of matching them with the requirements of the employers. In the modern age of information, you should not fail to learn and update yourself about the company with which you are willing to work. A minimum research about the company and its activities are required to recognize your skills that match those activities. You can also practice your interviews well before the final day. Role play can be done with your friends, neighbors, mentors and anyone who can provide you with constructive criticism. 2. Too Much Talking: You should focus on dialogues with the interviewer and not the monologues. If you keep on talking about yourself, a certain time will come when the other side will not feel any interest. If you want to fill the silence or want to convert your answers to questions, it may create negative impact on the interviewers. Besides, irrelevant points may pop up if you talk much during the interview. So, it is always advisable to limit your conversation to one or two minutes at a time. 3. Downplay Accomplishments: When the employers are calling you for the interview, they are already impressed with your resume. The interview is the platform to prove that they were not wrong. If you are too modest or self deprecating in nature, you should work on that. 4. Make Up Answers: If you are not aware of a particular answer, just be up front that you do not know. Making up answers in the interview will not serve your purpose. Sometimes the interviewers may provide particular information and provide opportunity to learn them. This process can easily demonstrate that how easily and quickly you can grasp new concepts. 5. Bad Handshake: Yes, a bad handshake can fail to impress the interviewers. It proves that you dont know how you should present yourself. Therefore, your hand movement should be bold and confident so that it can reveal your personality properly. 6. Nervous Habits: All your nervous habits are to be avoided during the interview. Some candidates may twirl their hair, tap their foot, or pick their cuticles when they feel nervous. All these activities should not appear in front of the interviewers. For controlling these habits, mock interviews can be very helpful. 7. Avoid Eye Contact: Eye contact should never be avoided as body language can be considered as one of the very important factors during an interview. Your eye contact and posture should appear as if you are interested and confident about the job. Looking down at the floor and not maintaining the eye contact will create a negative effect. 8. Run Out of Questions: You should have questions about the company where you are applying. It will prove that you are interested in joining the particular company. It is very normal to have curiosity about the overall work culture, the specific team for which you are being interviewed. So, you should come up with various questions regarding them. You can prepare some questions well beforehand or can ask some spontaneous questions. 9. Zero Failure: A person can’t be successful without failures in his life. Therefore, you should not say that you never had failures. When it is time that you reveal your weaknesses, you should reveal them strategically. Show that you have learnt from your past mistakes and have enhanced yourself. 10. Relaxed Approach: You should never be too relaxed in your approach. Until you have landed your job, it will not be wise to be too relaxed with the recruiters. Make yourself comfortable but never be too relaxed to reach at the hangout mode with your recruiters. You should always remember that you are being judged from when you have entered the room till you leave the interview room. 11. Distraction by Phones or Tablets: You should not get distracted by your tablets or phones. You should turn off all your electronic gadgets for focusing entirely on your interview. The recruiter should feel that he/she is the only important person for you during the interview. 12. Unnecessary Apologize: If you apologize for anything like your appearance or your answers, it may provide you with a weak appearance. You should definitely apologize in situations where you have accidentally elbowed someone, but there is no need to apologize if you do not know a particular answer or you do not agree with some particular points with the recruiters. 13. Inappropriate Dress: You should remember that you are dressing up for your interview and not for your friend’s birthday party. Your dress should be professional and appropriate according to the interview. You can well imagine the feelings of the recruiters if you come up with shaggy beard, uncombed hair and dirty t-shirt. 14. Highly Rehearsed Answers: It should not appear to the hiring managers that you have rehearsed your answers. Sometimes the answers may appear to be direct from the guide books or the manuals for the interviews. If the recruiters ask about your weaknesses, your answers should not be ‘perfectionism’ or ‘working too hard’. These answers can never be successful in impressing the interviewers. 15. Never Ask about Salary: Yes, this is also a very common mistake during your first interview. We are all interested to get paid but bringing up that topic during the interview will not be wise on your part. It shows that you are interested about the specific figure of the salary and not about the job. The proper etiquette, confident behavior, proper eye contact and posture with good preparation can help you to crack the interview with ease. About the Author: George Taylor is a well known debt specialist who provides the debt settlement reviews for the newbie in this industry. In this article, he warns about some common mistakes during the first interview.

Presenting for IMPACT - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Presenting for IMPACT - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career What is the one time when you are in the spotlight? You guessed it, when you are presenting to your audience on a given subject.   Your credibility is at stake during this presentation, so be prepared to answer questions and be concise with your PowerPoint slides and vocals. Here are some tips:  Know your audience:   research the people you will be presenting to before the meeting Memorize the material:   Be sure to study both the slides and the script before conducting a presentation Ask for feedback:   how can you better your presenting skills, without polling your audience Be honest:   if you cant answer a question, write it down and when you figure out the correct answer, get back to that audience member Presenting is a formal way of letting your audience or manager know that you exist and add value to the business.   The difficult part is the pressure that you endure before you present because you are being judged on your verbiage and subject knowledge.   This is why preparation is the key to your success. Strong presentation skills is a clear path for leadership, which corresponds to management. A lot of people think that they can start a business but they dont really understand the day to day work involvement.   Selling a business can be a great way to cash out. A lot of people think that they can start a business but they don’t really understand the day to day work involved.   Selling a business can be a great way to cash out.

Why taking time out after graduating can be good for your career - Debut

Why taking time out after graduating can be good for your career - Debut This article was written by an external contributor. Freya Marshall Payne suggests why you should take some time out after studying. You can follow her  on Twitter here. This summer I graduated top of my class and moved into a tiny van with my partner to travel Europe. I know, I know: it sounds like the plot to one of the many films about postgrad malaise situated somewhere awkwardly between Reality Bites and Into the Wild. But this decision wasn’t about apathy or running away. In fact, it was a calculated decision intended to figure out exactly what my next career steps should be. Stepping back shouldn’t be a setback and, in fact, when done intentionally and strategically, it can be such an asset. Third year for me was a whirlwind dominated by two dissertations and the constant discussion of careers. For a long time I’ve been torn between journalism, academia and poetry; despite all the careers advice I sought and all the job listings I looked at, I simply couldn’t do the necessary soul-searching to figure out which career path I wanted to go for while I was still in the university environment. If you’re a stressed finalist or a recent graduate who hasn’t found their vocation yet, taking time out can help you make more informed career decisions in the future. And it isn’t just me who thinks it’s a good idea: in 2017, the head of UCAS said as much  and 42% of those surveyed by a YouGov poll agreed  with him. Postgraduate fees are expensive and grad jobs aren’t the be-all-and-end-all, so take the time to forge your own path. You’ll give yourself much-needed breathing room It’s easier to figure out what you really want when you aren’t in the middle of other people’s fears and desires. The lack of pressure of final year deadlines overlapping with application deadlines for grad schemes or postgrad degrees also helps. Take the time you need to research and weigh up all your options. Self-reflection is important for your happiness The backdrop to all of this is the student mental health crisis. The majority of people at uni  experience mental health problems, and I’m sure that a contributing factor is the isolating competition for jobs in an environment where careers are less stable than ever. Graduating doesn’t make people much happier, either.  Self care is more important than ever when you graduate. I think that taking the time to figure out what is fulfilling to you might well make you happier in the long term than the slow letdown of finding you jumped for the wrong job just because you were in a hurry. Taking time out allows you to plan and prepare Planning for the future once you’ve already graduated means you have a realistic picture of what you can achieve. With your academic experience behind you, you can be a lot more targeted when you go after what you want. You already know your grades, and hopefully your strengths and weaknesses as well; you can set your own timetable, prioritise your applications and remedy any gaps in your skill set. Develop your CV and skills in new ways Taking time out doesn’t mean you should slack. In fact, this is the best time to experiment and take on as many different opportunities as you can. You can work on term-time internships you couldn’t have done as a student, do internships abroad or take on a part-time job. You can travel, start a blog or volunteer/work while you travel things all made easier by the internet. Since I embarked on my van journey, I landed my first Guardian byline and presented my first paper at an academic conference but I’ve also done my fair share amount of unglamorous copywriting and translation. Exploit the skills you have, and pick up new ones. Pick up a language you left behind, or learn how to code. You can pick up transferable skills in unusual ways After your break, you’ll be marketing it, so start thinking early about what it’s teaching you. It’s not a gamble: it’s risk-taking, and that’s a seriously transferable skill in my view. It’s also great evidence of self-motivation, a skill most employers will be interested in. You don’t just gain skills from traditional jobs. Through volunteering, starting your own projects and exploring the world around you whether travelling the globe or getting to know your hometown again you’ll be able to pick up experience of such things as team-work, leadership, organisation and time-management in new and challenging settings. Download Debut  and  connect with us on  Facebook,  Twitter  and  LinkedIn  for more careers insights.

122 Mac Prichard - Macs List - Jane Jackson Career

122 Mac Prichard - Macs List - Jane Jackson Career Mac Prichard is the founder and publisher of Mac’s List, an online community for people looking for rewarding, creative, and meaningful work. More than 80,000 people a month visit the site, which includes a job board, and a blog and courses about the nuts and bolts of job hunting and career management.Mac also hosts a weekly podcast, Find Your Dream Job, and is the author of the new book, Land Your Dream Job Anywhere.To download a free chapter of Land Your Dream Job Anywhere click hereMac Prichard and I have a fascinating conversation about his career journey, his career in politics and communications.Armed with a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard Kennedy School and a Bachelor in Political Science from the University of Iowa, Mac was a speech writer for Governor John Kitzhaber in Oregon before transitioning to a Public Affairs Manager at the Oregon Department of transportation.Macs career took a number of interesting turns before he transitioned into entrepreneurs hip and is now a successful author, podcaster and job search mentor.His top tips for job search success:Reach out and ask, dont wait to be pickedBe clear about what you are looking forGet out and talk to people your network is the key to successWhere to find Mac:Website: www.macslist.orgTwitter: @mac_prichard

A Career within the Food Industry - CareerAlley

A Career within the Food Industry - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Food is a necessity of life and every day around the world millions of tons of food are consumed. As such, it is no surprise that there is an array of fantastic opportunities to gain a career and excel within the food industry. Each and everyday thousands of people are hard at work ensuring that the food that reaches the shelves of our supermarkets is safe, edible and ready to consume. The growing demand for affordable, high quality food has resulted in increasing amounts of employment opportunities for candidates who display the correct characteristics and skills for the job criteria. However, despite the abundance of great careers available, many candidates who lack direction are often unaware of where their skills will be best suited. If this sounds all too familiar to you then it might be worth considering niche specific recruitment sites such as Yourfoodjob.com where you will be able to find a variety of food related career paths in roles such as Cheffing, Engineering, Production, Operational Management and even food technologist jobs for supermarkets. The food industry is truly diverse and offers opportunities in a variety of roles, in which skills can often be transferable from non-food related industries. Although a passion for food is beneficial it is never a substitute for a good work ethic, communication skills and attention to detail. Starting a career within the food industry often begins with an education and qualification in food technology; however, it is also possible to land an entry level job where in-house training is offered by the employer. Any relevant experience that can be attained will be beneficial and advantageous if you are just starting out within the food industry, therefore always keep an eye out for paid and non-paid internships. Alternatively, if you are already qualified but still unsure of your future career path within the food industry, why not consider taking advantage of industry specific job boards and recruitment sites who display a wide range of careers and opportunities among some of the biggest UK food businesses, such as jobs with Morrisons supermarket. About the author: Chris Algar writes on behalf of YourFoodJobs.co.uk who offers specialist recruitment for food specific careers. For more information you can click here. This is a Guest post. If you would like to submit a guest post to CareerAlley, please follow these guest post guidelines. Good luck in your search. Visit me on Facebook