The Ins and Outs of Moving for a Job

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

You've found the perfect job but it's clear across the country. What do you do first?

Make Sure You Really Want to Move:

Many of us romanticize living somewhere else. The houses are cheaper, the taxes are lower, and the people are friendlier. Sure, all that might be true, but make sure you are moving for the right reasons. Is your family behind you and supportive? Moving for work takes a lot of flexibility on the part of other family members and dependents. In order to make the move easier on everyone, you have a lot to consider. Will your spouse be able to find work if they want? Will your children have as good opportunities for education and enrichment?

If you are single, it might be easier for you, but it's still an adjustment to make. You may be farther away from your support system and it might take time to feel a part of your new community if you don't know anyone in the area.

Do Your Research:

Investigate the city or town you want to move to. How does the cost of living compare to you current city? Will your money go as far? What is crime like? Are there a lot of things to do for those times when you won't be working? Most cities and towns have web pages where you can find a lot of this information. Do you know anyone in the town you will be relocating to? Ask questions! Only when you are informed can you make sure you are making a decision that's right for you.

Set a Realistic Time Frame:

Do you have to sell your home before you move? Are you waiting for the kids' summer vacation? Before you apply for a job or accept an offer, make sure you're setting a realistic time frame. Be fair to your prospective employer. If you need time to make a decision, make sure you take the time you need. Communicate with your prospective employer so he or she knows the constraints you are working under. As well, be considerate of his or her constraints. Don't apply for a job that needs to be filled ASAP if you can't move until the summer. 

Ask For Help:

Your future employer might be able to help you get settled. As well as potentially providing financial relocation assistance (you may be able to negotiate this as part of your offer) your new employer can likely help you in choosing a real estate agent or even suggest a great neighborhood. Don't be afraid to ask.

With a little preparation and foresight, you can enjoy your new opportunity. Moving brings along a lot of challenges but it can be a rewarding way to make a change to both your career and personal life.

Hot Tips for Projecting Professionalism at Your Next Job Interview

By Sara Parent

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

A job interview can be a stressful experience if you don't know what to do, or if you aren't used to being in that situation. But there are some things you can do to help you interact with your interviewer more professionally. A successful interview has as much to do with how you present yourself as the skills you bring to a company.

When meeting someone for the first time, there are some simple rules to remember. We went to Anne Sowden of Here's Looking At You, a Toronto-based image consulting firm, for some suggestions on how job seekers can project a professional image.

She offers these tips for your next interview:

• Stand up straight and keep your shoulders back. This makes a huge difference when making a first impression AND you'll feel better.
• If you're not sure how to shake hands properly, get someone to help you. There's nothing worse than a bad handshake.
• When shaking hands, stand up, make eye contact and smile. Smiling conveys an accepting attitude towards others.
• Maintain eye contact with the interviewer but look away at regular intervals to make sure you aren't staring.
• If you're concerned about clammy hands. Keep a tissue in your pocket and gently squeeze it before shaking hands.
• When receiving someone's business card, leave it on the desk/table in front of you and look at it during the meeting. It's one way to make sure you get the person's name correct.
• When sitting, don't slouch. This sends a message that you don't care about being with someone.
• Be prepared. Whether it's an interview, meeting or networking. Have a plan of what you want to accomplish and do it.
• Practice introducing yourself. Get a friend to help you.

Remember that, for better or worse, first opinions are formed very quickly. Sowden says that the image you project can affect your ability to inspire trust and confidence. She adds that it also gives others information by which they judge our credibility and professionalism.

Knowing how to act and presenting yourself professionally through your attire are critical image builders. Sowden offers these tips on dressing for business:

• Buy the best you can afford in classic styles.
• The more skin you show, the less professional you look.
• Err on the side of caution-dress up rather than down; dress conservatively.
• Research the dress code, the position you're interviewing for and the person you will be meeting.
• To project expertise, wear a jacket.
• Wear clothing that is comfortable and makes you feel good.
• Focus on basics-jackets, skirts, slacks in a neutral colour. Black, navy and charcoal project power and authority.
• Check skirt lengths. A skirt around knee length is flattering for most women and looks professional. It also doesn't expose too much leg when sitting down. If your skirt has a split, check how much leg you expose when sitting down.
• Avoid plunging necklines, sheer fabrics, and clinging knits. Knits cling and find body fat even if you think you don't have any.
• Keep jewellery simple. No clanging, dangling or jangling items.
• Carry either a briefcase or a purse, not both. No knapsack.

How to Fit An Active Lifestyle into a Busy Schedule

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy 

You've been wanting to get in shape but you don't feel like you have any time. Your job keeps you busy and once you're home, you don't have the time or energy to work out or exercise. What can you do? Here are a few tips to get in some exercise where you never thought possible.

Commuter?

If you commute, you have a perfect opportunity to exercise. If you can, get off the bus a few stops before you usually do. The walk will likely do you some good. You'll be able to clear your mind, relax, and unwind before you get home.

Going Up?

If you work in a high-rise and it's safe, try taking the stairs. Don't do any more than you feel capable of, especially if you are just starting off. Work your way up slowly. You can take the elevator half-way or two-thirds of the way, then walk to the rest. You'll be amazed at the exercise you are getting. And stairs are a great way to get into shape.

Walk When You Can:

By parking further away, you can get in a walk where you never thought you could as well as saving yourself a lot of frustration and anxiety that is associated with trying to find the best spot. And this doesn't have to be just at work. Try it when you go grocery shopping and at the mall. You'll be amazed at how your anxiety decreases when you aren't fighting for a parking spot right next to the door.

When you're running quick errands, try walking. Sometimes, it's not really quicker to take the car when you factor in traffic and parking.

Motivate:

Support is one of the best ways to help ensure you'll be able to continue exercising. Why not start a lunchtime walking club at work? Gather a few people from your office who have similar goals and plan a walking circuit. Invest a bit of money into getting a pedometer. You'll be amazed at how little time it takes to rake up actual kilometers. Set some goals for yourself and for the group and celebrate when you achieve them.

Learn How to Manage Your Time:

Often we think we don't have time to exercise, when really, we aren't managing our time properly. If you are self-employed, work from home, or have a flexible work schedule, make sure you spend your time efficiently. Checking email, re-reading reports, and unnecessary meetings are all great examples of time wasters. Set yourself a goal, how much work you'd like to accomplish, and once you've reached it, give yourself a break and reward yourself with your favourite form of exercise.

Fitting exercise in a busy lifestyle just takes a little creativity and thought. Sneaking exercise in your daily routine is easier than you think. You can walk around your neighbourhood, the office, or when running an errand.

0diggsdigg Five Ways to Find an Unadvertised Job Today!

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

A huge number of jobs are never advertised. How do you go about snagging one of these?

Network:

This is one of the best ways to find a job. Let people know you are looking for work. Tell everyone - your relatives, friends, neighbors, people at the gym. You can also talk to people who work at a similar position to the one you want. Let them know of your skills and credentials. Who knows when they may be asked to recommend someone for a job and your name will be fresh in their mind.

Investigate:

There's a couple of companies you've been looking at, but you don't see them advertising jobs in the paper or online. Find their website and check it out. Companies often post their job ads on their corporate site and don't advertise them anywhere else. A little digging might reveal they are hiring for your dream job.

Ask if a Company is Hiring:

If you are interested in working for a specific company, ask them if they are hiring. They may take your resume and keep it on file. The next time they are hiring, before they incur costs to advertise, they will look through their resumes first. And you'll be there.

Contact your Professional Organization:

If you belong to a professional organization or association, give them a call. Ask them if they are aware of any job opportunities with any companies in your field. They can be very knowledgeable about opportunities because often companies will go to them for advice on hiring or finding staff.

Contact your Local Chamber of Commerce:

They know of most businesses in a local region. They can help you find out who is hiring and who isn't. They can also inform you of new businesses (maybe a large company is coming into the area and is looking for staff) and put you in touch with business leaders. This gives you the opportunity to use your networking skills and to introduce yourself to those who make hiring decisions.

Finding unadvertised jobs is all about putting yourself out there and looking for opportunities. It's about taking the time to seek out your dream job even if no one is telling you how or where to apply. And the payoff can be very satisfying.

Company Research - What You Need To Know

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

It's critical when you're looking for a job that you research the company you're applying for. It's a good idea in many ways and certainly worth the time investment.

Before You Send In Your Resume:

You've seen a position advertised by XYZ Company and the job sounds great. One of the first things you should do is research the employer. By having some knowledge about the company you are applying to, you'll have some idea if this is a company you are interested in. You'll also know if they are financially stable, how their business works, and what their business is. Then, you can make an informed decision as to whether or not you should apply for the position and whether or not you would seriously consider a job offer from this company.

At The Interview:

Want a better shot at answering those tough interview questions? Know the company you're interviewing for. Common interview questions like "Why should we hire you?" and "What do you think of our corporate culture?" are kind of hard to answer when you don't know anything about the company. If you want to come off more polished and prepared and give your interviewer answers with substance, take some time to research the company. Why should they hire you? Maybe because you've got extensive and direct experience dealing with the same type of products, vendors, and clients (if you do, of course!) How do you know what their major products are and who they deal with? You've researched it!

Finding out their corporate structure and how a company operates will help you decide how to answer questions by allowing you to place emphasis on those things the company views as important.

By having some knowledge of the company, your answers can be substantiated by not only explaining your past skills and experience, but by relating them to the company and its activities.

When you know a company's processes and hiring style, you'll also have a better idea of advancement opportunties and the potential for growth.

How To Research:

You can find information about about companies virtually anywhere. Look for the company's Web site, put their name through a search engine, or talk to colleagues and relatives. If the company is public, you can find out financial information and reports on their Web site or by visiting a financial Web site.

Being prepared is the first step in feeling confident in both applying for a job and in your success at the job interview. By researching a company, you'll be in a better position to answer tough interview questions and you'll be better able to relate your past experience to what the company is looking for.

Always Wanted to be a Police Officer?

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

You've decided this is the path you want to take. You've watched enough NYPD Blue and COPS to know this is the life for you. What do you do now?

Dig In:

Call your local police force or your local RCMP detachment. Ask to go on a ride-along. This will give you a better understanding of the job. What you don't see on NYPD Blue you might get to experience on your ride-along. 

Talk To Those on the Job:

Get to know your local police officers. Make some contacts at the station by telling them you're interested in the job and in pursuing a career in it. Ask them what they like about, what they dislike, what skills they needed, how they got into it, what skills they think you should have, and anything else you can come up with.

Decide on Which Force to Join:

If you are interested in local police in your town or municipality, check their websites or give them a call to see what qualifications you need to work as a police officer for your town or city. Ask them how many officers they have hired lately and how they see their needs in the future. Education requirements differ from city to city. Some will require you to have a policing course completed. Some hire you first and send you to a police college. As well, many colleges and universities offer preparatory courses to help you get into policing. Ask the force what they are looking for as this could save you a lot of time and money.

If you are interested in joining the RCMP, they have a detailed requirement of what they need. First, you must attend a training session. They are held throughout the country. Contact your local detachment for information on the next available training session. Then you must write the RCMP Police Aptitude Test, do the Physical Abilities Requirement Evaluation (called PARE, which is used by most police agencies in Canada), then a series of tests, investigations, and evaluations are performed. If you are successful, you will be selected to enroll in the cadet training program at RCMP Depot in Regina, Saskatchewan. 

Get Ready:

The process to join a police force can be intense. You've got to be prepared to deal with physical fitness testing, personality and aptitude testing, background checks, and lots of paperwork.

Policing can be a satifying and rewarding career. A little research now will help you prepare yourself and get you closer to fulfilling your goal.

Five Things To Discuss During Your Interview

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

A job interview can be a stressful event. You're trying to remember what to talk about, and how to make sure the interviewer knows you're perfect for the job. What should you remember to mention? Here are some tips.

Your Skills:

Re-read your resume so all skills are fresh in your mind. Put an emphasis on the skill requirements of the interviewer and make sure they know you are capable of doing what is required. Some employers won't read the specifics of a resume, or will have missed or forgotten about it. Stressing your skills will help them remember why you should be hired. 

Your Flexibility:

If you're flexible, let them know. If you can work late, can do overtime, or can work weekends or travel if you need to, tell them. Don't appear too eager because they may not have any need for you to work extra hours. But by letting them know of your availability, you present yourself as an attractive candidate.

Your Attitude:

Projecting a positive and professional attitude will leave a happy memory in the minds of your interviewers. A can-do approach to work is always welcomed by employers. Give yourself a pep-talk before you go in and tell them that you're a hard worker, you're cheery, and you'd enjoy working for them.

Your Willingness to Learn:

Since most jobs evolve over time, you want to showcase your willingness to learn new skills. Make sure you tell them about programs or tools you've learned and retained in your past jobs. They'll likely be impressed by your willingness to adapt and to learn new things. It shows a strong work ethic and talent.

Your Interviewer's Needs:

If you've got the skills they're looking for, tell them. If you fulfil the requirements of the job ad, make sure you stress how you fulfil them. Make sure your interviewer's needs and requirements are met. They want to know that the person they hire will be a perfect fit and will have everything it takes to do the job. By stress your skills and how you fulfil their particular needs, you're telling them to hire you.

It's important to bring forth some of your best qualities at a job interview. Your skills, your flexibility, and your ability and willingness to learn new things are usually key requirements in an interviewer's list of needs. By fulfilling these needs and telling them how you can do the job, you are projecting your capacity to do the job.

Do You Have What it Takes To Work in a Call Centre?

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

Working in a call centre might seem like an easy job at first glance. It's just about answering phones, right? Wrong. There are many different jobs in call centres. There are Customer Service Reps (CSRs), Technical Service Reps (TSRs), Supervisors, Managers, and Human Resources staff, and many others who work to ensure a call centre, the customer's first line of contact with a company, works as a well-oiled machine.

So what does it take to work in a call centre? Though for this article we'll focus on CSRs, many of these skills are critical in other call centre jobs too.

Ability To Work in a Fast-Paced Environment:

In a call centre, it's all about speed. If you are working in an inbound call centre (meaning call come in to your call centre, as opposed to CSRs making calls) the main focus is how fast can a rep answer a phone. How quickly can they solve a customer's issue? Call times and wait times are how a centre calculates its efficiency, and therefore, it's costs and profits. But call times and wait times aren't just important for the company, they are also important to the customer. That's why it's critical to be able to work under pressure. 

Accuracy and Attention to Detail:

The customer is calling you because they have a problem. You must be able to answer their inquiry quickly and correctly so their faith and trust in your company is upheld. It's important to the company you work for that their customers aren't frustrated. These customers are the backbone of your company, and they need to have faith that their call is being handled professionally and correctly and that they will get the same correct answer if they call next time. Accurate consistency is critical. And for that, you need to be the type of person who can learn and retain information.

Ability to Learn New Skills:

Products and services change constantly. And though the basics will remain the same, you need to be on top of new things. The last thing a customer wants to do is be calling you for answers and you don't know what they're talking about. You also have to be willing to learn computer programs or software unique to your call centre. Call centres have a lot of processes and you must be able to learn how those work so you can work more efficiently, and better serve customers.

Learning new skills such as another language can also help your job prospects in a call centre. Many list the ability to speak a second language as an asset.

Ability to Deal with Difficult People:

More often than not, customers will call because they have a problem and they want you to fix it right away. If you cannot show empathy, and support them in their frustrations, they will get increasingly upset. You must be able to deal with difficult people and know how to handle and diffuse them. Consider taking a course on the subject. You'll learn how to improve your listening skills, and learn little tricks as simple as repeating back what you hear from your customer. This helps them feel listened to, understood, and in the end, it helps them feel better. The more ability you have in dealing with difficult people, the better you will feel also.

Flexibility:

Though a call centre can be a great 9-5 job, most of them require you to work some shift work. And this or may not fit your schedule. When you decide to apply for a job at a call centre, make sure you know what you are able to do in terms of shift work. If you have dependents, you will need to make alternate care arrangements. Remember too that changing shifts can affect your sleep patterns and your activities outside work hours.

The nature of call centres can also mean that you can be called in at the last minute. You might also be sent home if there is not enough work. If this is a concern for you, ask how often this happens when you are considering a job in a call centre.

Working in a call centre as a CSR can be a satifying job. Often, opportunities to move up to a team leader or scheduler can be had with the work experience you gain starting at the bottom. If you have the right skills and the desire to improve them, a career as a CSR might well be worth investigating.

Over 50 and Looking for Work?

By Sara Parent

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy 

Older adults looking for work can often face challenges unique to their position.

According to Barry Witkin, CEO of Prime50 Employment Services, "Employers still think that they are dealing with a 50+ person that existed 50 years ago and not realizing that the 50+ person of today is younger looking, healthier, has longevity, and wants to continue their careers."

If you are over 50 and looking for work, here are some things you should keep in mind.

Showcase Your Technology Skills:

Don't give an employer a reason to buy into the myth that older workers aren't technology savvy. Focus on the tech skills you have. Showcase your abilities to use and learn new programs by drawing on your past experiences and your ability to learn new processes. If your skills aren't where they should be, update your computer skills and learn how to use the common technology tools of today. Computers and new technologies are part of the workplace, and whether you are young or old, you should be able to use them effectively.

Focus on Your Experience and Loyalty:

According to Witkin, older workers have a vast amount of experience and knowledge and could be great mentors to the younger employee. He adds they are loyal and will not leave a job as the younger generation is doing today after two years or so.

Stress your experience and your ability to hit the floor running. If you've worked for a company for a large number of years, focus on the positive changes you made, the skills you learned, and your loyalty.

Show employers that hiring you makes sense. Witkin says that older workers know how to deal with change and stress and won`t panic in crucial situations because they have all of these life/work experiences from the past to rely on.

Draw upon your life experiences to show potential employers how you've managed situations in the past, and how you can use those skills in the future to benefit the workplace.

Get Out There:

You have a world of experience that just can't be had in a classroom. Get out there and make use of your experiences. If you're motivated to continue your career, make sure you stress that to a potential employer. Show them that you are willing to learn new things and help others around you with your experience. With the aging population, demographics and the future are in your favor. According to Witkin, the future holds great things for the worker who is 50+. He foresees that employers "will recognize that all the perceptions they had about the 50+ workforce are all wrong. They will embrace them by recruiting them and retaining them and create policies to allow them to work under quite different conditions and terms than they would have not considered before."

Being an older adult looking for work can have its advantages. Make sure you showcase your work experience, loyalty, abilities, and your desire to work. You've got a lot to offer potential employers so make sure they know it.