Professionals.lk - Career . Improve . Life, 3A , 3rd Lane , "Palm Grove Avenue", Colombo (2026)

01/09/2013

In today’s society, your resume is the most important document you have to get yourself an interview.

Including power resume words will increase your chance of getting hired by 80%! When a hiring manager is seeing the same old resume time and time again which includes the cliché words and phrases such as “highly dedicated individual” or “great team player” you are guaranteeing yourself your resume will be deleted.

Poorly chosen words and clichéd phrases can destroy the interest of the reader. Power words when chosen correctly can have the opposite effect of motivating and inspiring the reader Power Resume Words will make help you stand out from your competition and increase your chances of getting hired!

Top 100 Power Resume Words

Advanced
Assigned
Assessed
Absorbed
Accelerated
Attained
Attracted
Announced
Appraised
Budgeted
Bolstered
Balanced
Boosted
Bargained
Benefited
Beneficial
Comply
Critiqued
Closed
Collaborated
Designed
Delegated
Demonstrated
Developed
Detected
Efficient
Enhanced
Excelled
Exceeded
Enriched
Fulfilled
Financed
Forecasted
Formulated
Generated
Guided
Granted
Helped
Hosted
Implemented
Investigated
Increased
Initiated
Influenced
Integrated
Innovated
Instituted
Justified
Listed
Logged
Maintained
Mentored
Measured
Multiplied
Negotiated
Observed
Operated
Obtained
Promoted
Presented
Programmed
Provided
Projected
Qualified
Quantified
Quoted
Recommended
Refine
Revamp
Reacted
Retained
Recovered
Reinstated
Rejected
Sustained
Skilled
Saved
Scheduled
Supported
Secured
Simplified
Screened
Segmented
Streamlined
Strengthened
Triumphed
Troubleshot
Taught
Tutored
Translated
Trained
Uncovered
United
Unified
Updated
Upgraded
Validated
Viewed
Worldwide
Witnessed

05/06/2013

How Effective Is Your Resume?

As a job seeker, you have a resume and you send it to every possible job opening you can find. You make sure every recruiter in town has at least one copy on his or her desk. It’s posted in six places on Monster.com and four places on CareerBuilder.com. You hand it out like those guys hocking strip-show fliers on 5th Avenue in New York City. You even sent one to your best friend’s mother, simply because she seems to know everybody! But how effective is your resume, really?

Are you getting the results you want from it? Are you getting enough interviews? Do you even KNOW what “good results” would look like?

Have no fear, my friends, we are here to take the pain and confusion out of writing an effective resume. Here’s the inside scoop on getting the most out of your resume:

1. Define Expected Results

The first thing you need to do is determine what purpose your resume will play in your job search efforts. Do you want to use it to get a foot in the door? Do you want it to help you “close the sale?” Or, do you want your resume to simply be something your prospective employer has in their hands to help them rest assured they have made the right decision by hiring you? Any of these are legitimate uses for a resume, but you need to know how you intend to use this important document in order to be able to craft it to effectively achieve your goals.

2. Begin With A Clear Professional Summary

If you are lucky, you will get eight seconds worth of attention from the person reading your resume. You have got to grab their attention so they will read further. A banal, boring, or uninteresting summary will send them on to the next person. I see way too many resume’s that begin with some kind of “objective statement” to the effect, “desire a challenging career that utilizes my strengths.” I bet the hiring manager who reads this will get 500 or more with the same objective. What in that statement will make you stand out from the others?

More importantly, what do you have to offer a potential employer? Your resume is a marketing tool similar to a newspaper ad. If you want to grab the attention of the reader you’ve got to have a compelling headline. Otherwise, they will move on to the next one without giving you a second thought.

3. Give Proof

Once you have their attention you need to back up your statement with credible, verifiable results to prove you are capable of doing what you say you can do. Use CAR Statements in the body of your resume to demonstrate your capabilities. Don’t just state responsibilities. Give specific examples of how your actions have helped previous employers make or save money.

For example, every Office Manager could put on their resume they “order, organize and monitor office supply cabinet.” Big deal. Nothing in that statement would be enough to get you an interview. Just think of what might happen if, instead, you put down something like, “saved previous employer $12,000 per year by developing a process to effectively order and manage office supplies.” I can tell you what happened because one of my clients put that on her resume and got several interviews because of it. Show “proof” and you will stand out from the competition.

4. Develop An Effective Follow Up Strategy

You probably have figured out using a shotgun approach in your job search is not very effective. It’s a bit counter-intuitive, but a narrowly focused, laser-beam strategy will produce much better results.

If you aren’t seeing the results you want from your current resume, perhaps it’s time to try something different. These four tips have been time tested and will definitely produce results, I guarantee it!

23/04/2013

Salary Negotiation Strategies

Let me give you a few salary negotiation strategies to help you get your biggest paycheck yet…

1. Be Enthusiastic, Polite, And Professional

Let the employer know by your tone of voice and your demeanor that your goal is a win-win solution. If you are too pushy or adopt a “take-it-or-leave-it” attitude, the employer may get the impression that you’re not that interested in the job and withdraw the offer.

2. Start High And Work Toward A Middle Ground

Ask for a little more than you think the employer wants to pay and then negotiate a middle ground between the employer’s first offer and your counter-proposal.

3. Be Creative

Look beyond base salary for ways to boost your income. For example:

Holiday days. If new employees must work for 6 to 12 months before receiving paid holidays, ask that this restriction be waived.
Early salary review.
Bonuses. In addition to requesting a sign-on bonus, you may be able to negotiate a performance bonus.
4. Continue Selling Yourself

As you negotiate, remind the employer how the company will benefit from your services. Let’s say, for example, that the employer balks at giving you $8,000 more in compensation. Explain how you will recoup that amount and more for the company. For instance:

“I realize you have a budget to worry about. However, remember that with the desktop publishing skills I bring to the position, you won’t have to hire outside vendors to produce our monthly customer newsletter and other publications. That alone should produce far more than $8,000 in savings a year.”

In other words, justify every additional money or benefit you request. Remember to do so by focusing on the employer’s needs, not yours.

5. Ask A Fair Price

Be sure that your requests are reasonable and in line with the current marketplace.

If the salary offer is below market value, gently suggest that it’s in the company’s best interest to pay the going rate:

“The research that I’ve done indicates that the going rate for a position such as this is $5,000 higher than this offer. Although I’d really like to work for you, I can’t justify doing so for less than market value. I think if you reevaluate the position and consider its importance to your bottom line, you’ll agree that it’s worth paying market price to get someone who can really make an impact.”

6. Be A Confident Negotiator

Remember to use the confident body language and speech patterns. When you make a salary request, don’t go on and on, stating over the over again why it’s justified. Make your request and offer a short, simple explanation of why that amount is appropriate.

7. Let The Employer Win, Too

It’s a smart negotiating strategy to ask for a few benefits or perks you don’t want that badly. Then you can ‘give in’ and agree to take the job without those added benefits it the employer meets all of your other requests.

Ideally, both parties in a negotiation should come away from the table feeling that they’ve won. This is especially true when you’re dealing with salary negotiations. You want employers to have good feelings about the price paid for your services so that your working relationship begins on a positive note.

07/03/2013

6 Questions You MUST Be Prepared To Answer During Interviews ...

Increasing your chances of getting the job are pretty simple if you’re well prepared for your next interview. If you’re ready to answer some of the most common interview questions, you’re a step ahead of your competition. Here are six questions you must be prepared to answer during interviews:

1. Why Don’t You Tell Me About Yourself?

Approach this question as it relates to the job for which you are applying. Develop a 30-60 second personal branding statement that touches on your work history, your education, and briefly highlights your accomplishments. Practice this a bit – if you’re going for a sales or client facing job, the employer wants to make sure you’re more than just a capable communicator.

2. What Are Your Greatest Strengths?

For this particular question, you’re going to want to provide tangible skills. Don’t waste your time or the employer’s with, “I’m really a great team player or I have excellent communication skills.” Instead, describe your ability to bring new clients on board or talk about your knack for increasing sales even in highly competitive markets.

Here’s an example, “While I was in a sales internship with ABC Company, I increased sales by 29% in March and had the highest sales in the department five months in a row.”

3. Tell Me About Your Weaknesses.

I remember an old boss of mine once told me right before a routine corporate audit I should just answer the question. That meant volunteering no additional information. I’ve used that strategy on more than one occasion and it has worked well for me. In this case, do the same.

A good tactic is to talk about a weakness you had and show how it has since worked to your benefit, “There was a time when I was a bit impatient with co-workers who weren’t able to complete their work by the required deadline. I have come to realize that my personal standards and expectations are different from my co-workers and it is no longer an issue for me.” Remember, you don’t have to mention your every quirk, tic, or foible.

4. What Are You Looking For In Terms Of Salary?

Certainly, if you are in your first interview you really don’t have a clear sense of what the job entails. At this point, defer by saying, “I don’t have enough information about the job yet; what are your expectations in the first 90 days? 6 months?” Another approach is to ask if the employer has a range in mind for the position. As a last resort, you may decide to give the employer a broad range based on past salary, bonuses, and other benefits.

5. Why Did You Leave Your Last Job?

There are all kinds of reasons for leaving a company; however, you really need to be truthful with your answer. That said, you should carefully craft your answer to ensure it is appropriate. If your company downsized, mention it. If you made it through seven rounds of downsizing and were one of the last to go, by all means mention that, too!

Maybe you did everything you set out to do with your company and there was no real room to grow. Then, “It was time for me to find a position where I could further hone my skills and continue to grow.”

6. Why You? What Do You Bring To This Job That No One Else Does?

If you’re a sales person, this is the time to show what you’ve got. Formulate your answer as it relates to their job requirements and clearly demonstrate how your expertise is a perfect match for their every need.

Do your homework and be well prepared for your next interview. If you can answer these six questions easily, you’re on your way to the job of your dreams.

05/03/2013

Is Going Back To School Worth The Resources?

Getting a university degree greatly enhances your career choices. A bachelor’s degree offers numerous opportunities for employment within hundreds of different professions, enabling you to begin a prosperous career in many fields. After some time, however, you may discover the need to upgrade your knowledge and skills in order to stay on the cutting edge of your profession. This is where the option of going back to school may enter the equation. The following gives some insight into the benefits of returning to school to further your career options:

Job Promotions

The more knowledge and skills you accumulate in your profession, the greater your chances of receiving a promotion in your company. Upon graduating from university, most students start their careers in an entry-level position to gain experience in their field. At this level, students are given the opportunity to prove their abilities and skills while increasing their experience and expertise.

After a few years, individual may advance to the next level, depending on their work performance. As the years go by, employees continue to hone their skills and increase their knowledge to eventually qualify for more promotions. What if you could increase your knowledge and learn the advanced skills required of a corporate leader through a higher level of education? Would it not accomplish the same purpose without investing so much time, frustration, and effort?

Today’s masters degree programs empower graduates to perform at a more advanced level than ever before. Graduate programs equip students with the kind of sophisticated skills they need to handle even the most complex challenges of their profession. With this kind of personal development, you will be able to advance in your company at a faster rate and complete your objectives.

Networking

Today’s colleges and universities not only provide students with a high quality education; they are excellent sources of networking to advance a career. Networking is a fundamental element in establishing a profession. Through networking, an individual will build friendships and business relationships that have the potential to benefit all parties concerned on a long-term basis.

A university campus provides an opportune location to meet up-and-coming professionals in your field. A top-notch graduate school will attract successful professionals from all over the world. Here is the perfect environment to network with any number of professionals and establish reliable contacts for the future. You can never underestimate the power of networking to make great advancements in your career. Networking has proven to be one of the most effective means of establishing worthwhile contacts for mutual benefit, business growth, and prosperity.

Establish A New Career

Another benefit of returning to school later in life is the opportunity to start a new career. Rather than gain additional education and training in your current profession, you can learn a completely new one. Starting a second career is not as far-fetched as it may seem in our society today. Sometimes a new profession is just what you need to discover hidden talents and skills you never knew existed.

With advanced technology have come numerous possibilities for employment. These opportunities often involve learning brand new skill sets and taking your training to a whole new level. Those with the aptitude to learn and the vision to establish themselves in a new career may find a new career both profitable and satisfying for their future.

Personal Growth And Respect

Personal growth and respect are two other worthwhile benefits of returning to school. If you were unable to complete your degree program due to financial pressures or family obligations, returning to school after many years could be the fulfillment of a lifelong ambition.

Going back to school offers opportunities to expand your horizons and establish a more prosperous future. Becoming a student after many years presents its share of challenges and risks. With the risks, however, comes a certain measure of respect from family and friends who support your efforts and long to see you succeed.

04/03/2013

CV Format: Old VS. New

As technology has developed, it’s thrown open the windows on the conservative world of job applications. Candidates now have a breadth of options to customize, personalize, and dazzle the eyes of recruiters and hiring managers. However, new isn’t always better and it’s imperative you choose a CV format that’s a good fit for your target sector. Let’s consider some of the choices available.

Old Formats

Here are some older CV formats:

Word / PDF

Reliable, dependable, and standing the test of time, Microsoft Word will allow you to present your skills, experience and qualifications in a format that is easily absorbed by hiring managers. It will be searchable and compatible with all employer databases – key advantages. However, you still need to ensure the information is relevant and well presented. If you need help with this try using a CV Builder.

Sometimes I see CVs in PDF format, which can add visual impact. However, use this format with caution because PDFs can be difficult to edit, meaning your mistakes get saved – including being born in 2013, or having great dairy (rather than diary) management skills.

Pros: Very accessible and easy to read; easy to forward, store and use in interviews.

Cons: Can be poorly presented.

Suitable for: Almost every job role.

E-mail CVs

Copying and pasting a resume into the body of an e-mail has the advantage of being easy to read without needing to download an attachment. E-mail CVs are also searchable within an e-mail account (useful for retrieval). But, have you ever tried reading a long e-mail? It’s not an enjoyable experience. Now, imagine someone reading your CV.

Pros: Very easy to send to multiple recipients.

Cons: Difficult to read and often visually poor – particularly when printed out, Difficult to save and runs the risk of being quickly deleted.

Suitable for: Roles requiring little experience e.g. Entry-level positions.

New Formats

As the Internet has evolved, it’s allowed us to experiment with online content – including how we present our career history to potential employers. Here are some newer formats:

Visual CVs

The latest in resume presentation, Visual CVs certainly have an instinctive appeal. Their visual impact can be effective, utilizing colors, images and even music. They allow relevant links to be included, along with supporting documents like presentations and portfolios and they can also be kept up-to-date easily. Overall the user experience can be rich and quite comprehensive.

Unfortunately, visual CVs have their drawbacks when they’re used as a standalone CV. While they can look great, they need the recruiter or hiring manager to keep returning to the site. If you’re a nuclear physicist or a special forces operative, this may happen, but for most roles employers will expect a more compatible CV format.

Pros: Great visual appeal; updateable with provision to include a range of supporting information. Useful as an add-on to other CV formats.

Cons: Difficult to integrate into other systems and databases. Requires the employer to keep returning.

Suitable for: Creative roles or those requiring excellent web knowledge.

Webpage CVs

This hybrid format allows candidates to incorporate the extras that a website can provide into the traditional Word or PDF style CV. A webpage resume will generally have greater clarity than a standard CV with more content, images and colors. In addition, it’s possible to include supporting information and it is more straightforward than a visual CV to transfer information to a Word format for easy storage or sharing.

Pros: Visually appealing, updateable and easier to share with recruiters and hiring managers than other web-type CVs.

Cons: Will likely need to be reformatted for storage on company systems.

Suitable for: Most job roles.

LinkedIn

The number one social media platform for professionals has become an increasingly important job seeking tool. Candidates are searchable, either via the site or in general Internet searches, which means they can be found without having to register on job sites. Candidates can also demonstrate their skills and experience via recommendations and endorsements from people with direct experience.

Additionally, the site acts as a premier networking tool, bringing candidates and hiring managers in ever-closer proximity. Figures from LinkedIn show there were three billion people searches conducted via the site up to September 2012 and this should grow significantly this year.

Pros: Great networking tool with add-ons that help to strengthen a candidate application.

Cons: Geared towards the professional market. Often needs to be used with other CV formats.

Suitable for: Professional roles.

28/02/2013

3 Ways To Build Rapport And Ace The Interview ...

People hire people they like. So, while your skills and experience are important elements to securing a job offer, your ability to build rapport in an interview is just as important. The rapport you establish during an interview can greatly impact the impression you leave behind.

How To Build Rapport In An Interview

Building rapport occurs in many ways. In addition to having subject matter that you both can relate to, it’s also very much about body language. The handshake you offer when you first meet your contact, how you stand and sit, your facial expression and eye contact, to where you place your arms, hands, legs and feet is all part of body language to help establish the confident and engaged impression you want to leave with the interviewer.

The more engaged you are and the more similarities the interviewer sees in terms of your body language, the easier it’s to establish rapport.

Find out more on how to project effective body language during an interview from my blog post, “What Your Interview Body Language Reveals about You.”

Effectively building rapport is what gives many candidates the leg-up in the company’s interview process. Even if the candidate does not have as much experience as another candidate, he is seen as more favorable because he’s been able to connect with the interviewer in a way that is more relatable and can be seen as fitting along with the rest of the people at the company. Those who do the hiring want to know that the candidate is someone they themselves would enjoy working with.

Ace your interviews by applying confident and positive body language with relevant topics that help build effective rapport. You will come out of the interview leaving your contact with the best possible impression for consideration to a job offer. Meaningful topics of relevance to help build rapport during an interview include:

1. Current Events On The Company And/Or Industry

Before you go in for an interview, look over the company’s website for news events. Most company websites have a section with press releases. Did the company just sign a significant partnership, bring in a key individual from the industry or launch a new product? These are topics that can help build rapport and show you are on top of what’s going on at the company or industry. It shows you have a sincere interest in the company.

2. Challenges Of The Position And Challenges The Company Faces

Asking questions about challenges and then turning around the discussion to clearly point out how you may have experience handling the issues is an easy way to show your contact that you have a desire to learn, face problems and bring solutions.

3. Information About Your Contact

Establishing small talk with your interviewer may be done by asking questions such how she came to work for the company or her experience with particular projects. If you are conducting an interview in your interviewer’s office, take note of any family photos showing children or locations you may relate you. You may draw up small talk simply by commenting on the beautiful smiles of the children in the photo, asking how old they are, and sharing information on the age of children you may have of your own.

You can also ask if a photo was taken at a certain destination and add comment on how it relates to you – whether it’s your hometown or if you went on vacation there recently. Small talk is a time where an interviewer can get a better feel for your personality and a chance to establish a stronger bond by showing how you two may have similarities.

Many questions during the interview may be standard and seem a bit rehearsed, so slightly stray from the norm with small talk during the earlier part or latter part of the interview.

There’s generally a clear sense of what is expected out of an interview. The employer wants to know how serious you are about this opportunity by your preparedness for the interview and what you can offer to the company through your skills and experience. Now, just let them know you are someone who can work well with the team and you will be on the right path to acing the interview.

27/02/2013

Top 6 Tips for Resume Formatting ....

Resumes are still the main “calling card” used by job seekers and there are various schools of thought about the formatting of your document.

Here are a few tips that may help you beat the blank screen blues if you’re creating a new resume from scratch.

1. White space is important. Most resumes have at least a half inch margin, but a full inch is preferable. If your margins are smaller, you risk losing content if the document is printed by the hiring manager. Plus, a resume that lacks a one inch margin is harder for the reader to peruse and may look cluttered or chaotic – two qualities that are not often sought by employers.

2. If you’re going to use a template, ensure all of the fields are completed with your personal information. Nothing looks worse than seeing “insert job information here” on a candidate’s resume. The better choice may be to look at a variety of resume formats and combine styles based on your level of experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities.

3. Spell check and have a human edit your resume. Spell check is great, but it doesn’t catch all grammatical and typographical errors. It’s helpful to have someone else review your resume. Ask for that person’s feedback on the style of your resume, readability, and content.

4. Cut the fluff. Your resume should be clear and concise. Almost all people applying to jobs know how to use Microsoft Office programs and e-mail, so there’s no need to have a technical skills section on your resume unless you have skills that set you apart from the competition. There’s also no need to list “references available upon request.” If employers want to check your references, they will ask for them.

5. Be consistent with your style. Keep fonts and font sizes the same throughout the document. You should also consider using a similar heading on all pages of the document if your resume is more than one page. This is a good precaution in case the pages become separated.

6. Determine if your page length is appropriate. Most resumes are one to two pages. However, if you have more than 20 years of experience and/or a number of academic or professional publications, your resume may be longer. Keep in mind that a longer resume doesn’t equal more review time by the recruiter or interviewer. Your most important information should still be at the top of page one.

Resumes are not static documents, so even if you think you’re finished with crafting a great one, you will want to revise it slightly for each job description you are applying for and add to it as you obtain more experience.

Since more and more recruiters are using social media, you will also want to update your LinkedIn profile to match your new resume.

25/02/2013

Why Communication Skills Matter For Young Professionals .....

Communication in the workplace can take many forms, so you’ll need to determine what the accepted norms are for your employer. For example, some teams have weekly meetings to check on everyone’s progress and chat about any issues that have come up during the prior week. Some teams work remotely and only communicate via email and phone. That’s why it’s important to have good communication skills – especially as a young professional.

Whatever type of communication you are using, make sure you are participating in the discussion, asking questions where necessary and providing responses when asked.

No matter what, make sure your communication is professional in its tone. What you say is a huge reflection on you, so make sure you think before you speak. No one expects you to know all the answers, so freely admit if you’re not sure about something and offer to get back to the person once you have more information.

If you’re able to establish credibility early in your career, you will have a much easier time going forward. Tell the truth and be sincere. You will quickly earn your co-workers’ and managers’ trust if you exhibit these qualities.

In many workplaces and career fields, there is an expectation you will work with other people on projects during the course of your employment. It’s sometimes tough to get along with varying personalities and that is precisely why clear communication is so important. Take time to listen to other people’s points of view. You may not always agree, but it’s likely you can learn something new by being open to other perspectives.

As a young professional, you will be expected to communicate with co-workers, your manager, and possibly more senior leaders within the organization. Many colleges require public speaking courses and a basic introductory communications class to better prepare students for the workplace, but sometimes this isn’t quite enough.

If you need help finding your voice and speaking in front of others, practice does help. There are also organizations like Toastmasters International that coach professionals in their presentation abilities.

Also, remember that a big part of communication is receiving a message. Young professionals need to be open to receiving direction and feedback from co-workers and managers within the organization. Most seasoned professionals can tell you they have been on the receiving end of criticism at some point in their careers.

Listen to the feedback and then take action to improve upon whatever was cited in the discussion as an area for improvement. No one is perfect, so don’t expect to know everything. Take initiative to correct the issue going forward and learn from the experience.

Professionals.lk - Career . Improve . Life

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