Great Union

Source: JobsDB

When an employer recruits, they want a proven performer who can hit the ground running and add new value to the business. For you to stand out in the market, it is important to consolidate the skills and experience you have. Show potential employers you are a tried and experienced candidate.

If you are a graduate, professional work experience completed during your study is a huge benefit that for you to stand out from the crowd. Even a few weeks completed during semester break gives you an advantage over fellow graduates who have not taken the initiative to gain relevant experience.

Top five tips to stand out

1. Write an impressive CV

A good CV makes a good first impression. Use a common program, such as MS Office Word, and start with your contact details. List your education and qualifications and then your work experience in reverse chronological order, beginning with the most recent. If you have your own website profiling your work, include the URL, but do not submit it instead of a resume. Take time to proofread your CV and avoid any spelling or grammar mistakes.

2. Present yourself

Highlight one or two exclusive selling points to differentiate yourself in your CV and in an interview, and be sure to support them with relevant examples and information. For example, were you one of the highest achievers in your university degree?

3. Experience

Nothing is more important for a job seeker than having relevant experience. For seasoned professionals, this means matching your existing skills and experience with the job requirements. For graduates, this means gaining relevant industry experience through volunteer work or a study placement.

4. Use your networks

Contact a recruitment agency, search job websites, use social media and communicate with your networks, industry bodies and university alumni.

5. Develop new skills

Stay on top of industry trends as a proof to an employer that as their industry and business moves forward, you are moving forward with it.

來源: CT goodjobs

求職者寫求職信和CV，老實說，即使未到千篇一律的地步，亦大概萬變不離其宗。很多時候，求職者A與求職者B的分別，取錄與否就只一字之差。CV和求職信要寫（或不寫）哪些字，才能增加取錄勝算？

就CV用字，美國人力資源方案公司CareerBuilder調查，訪問達2200名HR，歸納出The Best Resume Terms及The Worst Resume Terms各15個英文詞彙。

當然，更「靚」的用字還多著，求職者不妨多加善用。而綜合上述「兩眼發光」詞彙，CV用字重點如下︰

– 清晰明確
– 表現行動力
– 配合關鍵字
– 量化成就

來源: CT goodjobs

若求職者只談「理想」而無實質價值或貢獻，就有欠恰當。老套都要講句︰「做人要有理想，做人一定要有理想，否則同條鹹魚無咩大分別。」然而，理想歸理想，總不能當飯食。Interview被問到「你的理想工作是什麼？」，求職者不外乎三件事︰技能、興趣和價值觀。

「理想工作」點答好？
開首：技能
求職面試始終要「老闆為本」（Boss-oriented）。作答時，求職者宜重點推銷與應徵職位相關的專業技能，強調自己期望學以致用，並展現出積極進修增值的上進心。

中段：講興趣
社會上有不同興趣，求職者與其一味死煲非洲鼓、跆拳道等「好開心」的興趣，倒不如從宏觀角度出發，策略性與面試官分享對行業的熱情，以及與工作有關的興趣。

結尾：價值觀
招聘面試，僱主和HR主要想看看與求職者夾唔夾得來，全然是價值觀的事。而「理想」和價值觀更關係密切——你的理想如何，你的價值觀亦必如何。因此，求職者回答關於「理想」的問題，建議精選兩項與應徵公司價值觀一致的項目或例子，再闡述個人職涯規劃，更重要是強調能為應徵公司帶來正面價值。

來源: CT goodjobs

自我介紹是求職招聘面試中，招聘官最常向求職者提問的問題之一，除非求職者口才奇佳反應極快，否則還是建議面試之前做好準備好講稿。

自我介紹有兩個要訣，「形式」與「內容」兩方面要有條不紊，內容不但切合求職者個人學歷背景和工作經驗，還要符合招聘官的期望。不妨參考以下秘技︰

妥善分配5分鐘
【00:00－00:30】首1分鐘：介紹姓名、工作年資、曾任職機構及企業、最近期職銜；
【00:30－01:30】說明個人優勢、技能及專長，如擅長活動策劃、社交媒體推廣專家、細心聆聽客戶要求等；
【01:30－03:00】進入整個環節的重點，求職者務必嚴陣以待，闡述工作成就，建議詳述過去服務的機構、職位、權責、成果與得著等；
【03:00－04:00】不妨主動提及辭職原因，釋除招聘官的疑慮，唯必須表現得大方自然；
【04:00－05:00】壓軸部分不妨談談目標及展望，如兩年至十年內目標和進修計劃等，展現積極進取、未雨綢繆的一面。

自我介紹小貼士
1/ 按時序分段介紹，建議以倒序方式為宜。
2/ 透過故事形式，簡介工作經驗更吸引。先描述工作情境，然後說明箇中得著及感受。
3/ 解釋辭職原因。面試官一般對離職原因特別感興趣，以觀察求職者是否合適人選。求職者不妨保持自然大方的態度，行使「主動權」，適時避重就輕。
4/ 0-2年工作經驗新鮮人（Fresh graduate）求職錦囊︰強調學業成績之餘，亦可著墨於課外活動，細述得著。
5/ 3-9年工作經驗求職錦囊︰回顧過去工作上的轉捩點或重大挑戰。
6/ 10年以上工作經驗求職錦囊︰宜發揮多年累積的管理技巧，並分享對招聘企業的展望。

Source: JobsDB

More and more companies nowadays recognize the importance of diversity within business. While the moral reasons for doing so are obvious and remain a priority, there is also a good business case to do so.

Having an inclusive workforce is valuable to a business in many ways. Each individual is shaped by their background and knowledges, giving them individual abilities and a different way of thinking from one another. Through recognizing the value that individuals can bring to a company, you are encouraging innovation. It will create improved problem solving due to the simple fact that we all look at and solve problems differently.

While there needs to be a focus on fostering an inclusive culture of diversity among existing staff, businesses need to ensure their hiring plans take this into account too. Having a workforce that embraces diversity and free thinking can be achieved through attracting top talent that represents a wide range of experiences and backgrounds. The hirer should ensure that the recruitment process does not limit the type of personalities they are attracting and welcomes people from various backgrounds and experiences.

Each employee has their own unique way of being able to contribute to the company and it is the responsibility of their line managers to know the strengths and weaknesses of their own team. Encouraging diversity of thought will enable businesses to put their employees to the most effective use. Businesses should consciously drive an inclusive culture and create an atmosphere where employees are able to share their thoughts and views, as well as respect others.

The task of continuing to access the skills of our most talented people is not a luxury, but a business imperative. It is one that, if planned and supported well, will reap the value of its investment many times over and ensure organizations have access to a deep and sustainable talent pool upon which to draw when planning for success.

Source: JobsDB

Many of today’s top companies face the problem of losing their best employees. So why do respectable employees leave?
Here are some of the most common reasons why even the best people resign:

Too little, too late
Salary and reward are the top reasons employees leave. Once employees feel they are not getting what they deserve, expect resignation letters to fly. Very often, companies wait until after receiving the resignation letter before offering salary adjustments. Unfortunately, this is often too little, too late. By the time the offer is made, the employee has already accepted another offer from a different company. This also applies to non-monetary benefits too such as leaves, medical and dental insurance, double pay, bonuses, commissions etc.

Ready for further career development
Another major reason some of the best employees leave their jobs is that they are ready to take their career to the next level. This normally happens if they feel that they have learned everything there is about their current work. Most employees gain confidence from having mastered a particular skill and if they are unable to find a place to further that skill in the company, they start setting their sights elsewhere.

Achievements not recognized
It is not surprising to see good employees leave the company simply because they feel that they are not being recognized for their achievements. We all want an occasional pat on the back for a job well done and when this does not happen, people also lose their desire to continue working hard.

Relationship with the boss
Relationships are an integral part of our social needs and if people can’t find it at work or from their bosses, they’re most likely to look for it somewhere else. Employees work with their managers or supervisors day after day and if they are unable to communicate with them, the work environment turns heavy before becoming toxic.

Work is no longer challenging
If work has become repetitive and ceases to present some sort of challenge, expect even the best employee to walk to the nearest exit and leave forever. It only takes months or a year at most to master skills and nobody wants to spend their whole lives doing the same thing.

The problem of talent retention affects both the company and the employee. When you lose people, you will have to work on getting their replacements. This means extra resources and costs for recruitment and training. Colleagues of the resigning employee would also be affected by extra workload during transition period and perhaps worsened morale. If you are having the same problem in your organization, you might want to assess the situation and do something about it before it gets out of hand.

Source: JobsDB

Even professionals with years of experience struggle with writing resumes that stand out from the crowd. This is the reality for most countries around the world today. It’s no longer enough to have a great tertiary education and relevant skills and experience. Presentation, relevance of content, clarity, personalization — these are critical factors commonly overlooked by job applicants which determine the fate of the resume. Are you guilty of the following mistakes? It might be why you’re not getting interviews.

1. No intro statement
This is one of the most commonly ignored elements of a resume — the intro statement. An effective resume should start with a strong and concise intro statement. The statement may focus on what drives you and what you’re passionate about. It should humanize the resume, so that recruiters can relate to you on a deeper level.

2. Information overload
You might have 10 years of experience, but you don’t have to list every detail down. Information overload causes the reader to disconnect and lose interest. Keep the resume simple, concise and relevant to the job you’re applying for. Be honest with yourself. Is it interesting and/or relevant? If not, delete it.

3. Vague achievements
Be as clear and specific as possible when it comes to describing your achievements. Stay away from weak verbs such as “managed” and “coordinated” — these words are too general. Use strong verbs such as “initiated”, “spearheaded”, “supervised”, etc, and wherever possible, use numbers to quantify achievements. For example, stated that you increased sales by x%.

4. Lack of personality
The recruiter is often looking for hints of a candidate’s personality in the resume, besides the usual skills and experience. Apart from your successes and education, what do you want the recruiter to take away from reading your resume?
What is the one thing you want them to associate with you? It might be your attention to detail, artistic flair, entrepreneurial talents, or something else.

5. Irrelevant content
Keeping the resume concise and on point increases your chances of keeping the recruiter interested enough to read through the entire resumes. Minimize your use of technical jargon to be vague and confusing, which causes the reader to tune out and disconnect.
Always look at it from the recruiter’s perspective and focus on the most pertinent information upfront and keep the rest short and sweet.

6. Poor readability
Is your resume full of long, wordy paragraphs? Are you making use of bold and italics formatting to highlight keywords and phrases?
Readability is a key factor in keeping the reader attracted. You need to make the resume as easy and effortless to navigate as possible — the reading experience is just as important as the quality of content when it comes to making a positive impression.

7. Spelling & grammatical errors
Last but not least, always use spell check. There’s nothing more unprofessional than submitting a resume that’s full of spelling and grammatical errors.
If you’re not sufficiently proficient in English, get a friend to help you. You can always explain it during the interview. Your potential employer will appreciate your commitment and efforts, which will surely score you bonus points. Remember, your resume has only one job: to get your foot in the door.

Source: Business Insider

There are thousands of weird or awkward questions that a hiring manager could ask you during a job interview. But one you might want to prepare for is: “Have you ever stolen a pen from work?”

The thing is, we’ve all taken a pen or two, so if you say that you haven’t, then they might think you’re a liar. But if you say that you do it all the time and act like it’s no big deal, then that could be problematic, too.

Reed writes in his book that saying something like “I have once or twice taken a pen from the office in an emergency but I have always returned it the next day or the day after” is a terrible response. Why? The interviewer knows that pen is still on your desk at home and might challenge you.

He suggests going with something more realistic, like:
“Well, I’d be lying to say I haven’t ever absentmindedly slipped a ballpoint into my jacket pocket, but it usually ends up back on my desk the following day, unless I leave it at home. I haven’t got a spare room full of paperclips and staplers, though, if that’s what you mean.”