Thursday, May 28, 2020

Secrets to How Women Entrepreneurs Manage Their Travel

Secrets to How Women Entrepreneurs Manage Their Travel While it’s easy to feel defeated after spotting discouraging news headlines about women being overlooked in the latest Oscars drama (pun intended), let’s focus our attention elsewhere. It’s still early in 2020, so we can start by ringing in this year by celebrating these women who have battled not only the battles typical of any entrepreneur but also those which have been presented by a system working against them. Fortunately, systematic changes are happening, it’s just at a very slow rate. Within this past year, Calfornia Legislation passed a law that requires at least one woman present on the boards of publicly held corporations by the end of 2019. That means women will finally begin to have a recognized place at a high corporate level, at least in one state. Despite inevitable setbacks and pitfalls, women entrepreneurs, particularly, have been given a unique opportunity to sidestep that formidable glass ceiling. With a new wave of venture firms, their opportunity to get a solid jump start has much better odds than ever before. This growing trend of venture firms dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurs has brought forward leaders such as Leadout Capital and Jane VC. With innovative ideas and perspectives representing at least 50% of our population, it’s no wonder entrepreneurial women have found increasing success. According to one report, between 2014 and 2019, the number of women-owned businesses rose 21%. Even given the increase, there is still work to be done. The revenue earned by these women is not yet reaching the amounts generated by male-owned firms even though over 40% of businesses are women-owned. Changes are certainly trickling in. However, we must continue to fight for balancing these inequalities in the world. According to a study by Harvard in 2014, investors preferred not only pitches coming from men, but those coming from attractive men. And if the Oscars is any testament, this might be a true sentiment in other industries as well. Regardless of this unfortunate imbalance, women continue to work on breaking the glass ceiling that has long existed for their professional success. Taking that win from California and the growth of female dedicated venture firms, these gradual changes help pave a way for today’s women entrepreneurs and for the future successes of others. Motivated to succeed, these women are willing to do what it takes to get to the next level. Often that means managing a business, traveling and maintaining a personal life. They are experts in time management and productivity. Reservations.com sought out some of the most remarkable women entrepreneurs of today to uncover their top travel tips. Worth an honorable mention is the inclusion of Serena Williams, who has also started her own venture fund for women, people of color and young entrepreneurs. Serena has been wildly successful as an athlete. Her underground effort to build a system to support fellow women’s successes is a great example of women coming together to strengthen one another. The list also features Whitney Wolfe, a key player in the female-empowering dating app Bumble. The Class Pass founder Payal Kadakia shares her travel tips, such keeping your favorite candy handy when you fly. She has not only made fitness a global trend but continues to be a voice for female entrepreneurs. A two in one featuring both a travel queen and business founder, Jen Rubio is featured for co-founding luggage brand Away. Developing the perfect kind of travel companion was not easy, but she made sure to surround herself with the right friends. Away earned $100.0M in Venture fundings in 2019 alone. How’s that for some motivation on breaking the odds set against you?   Check out the rest of the list to learn more about how these successful women manage their travel. About the Author:  Kristen Klepac is a world traveler who has climbed mountains in Poland, explored the ruins of Pompeii and is currently on her way to settling down in and uncovering the wonders of France. Between a good read, her love of music and learning French, she works as a freelance writer with Reservations.com specializing in travel writing and sharing her passion for travel, personal growth, and wanderlust.  

Monday, May 25, 2020

The Best Marketing Tools for Your Business

The Best Marketing Tools for Your Business We understand that marketing plays an enormous role in achieving success for your business. After all, a business will always ride on the coattails of its reputation. No matter the size, market knowledge is the main power in a company’s arsenal, as it takes the person minding their own business and transforms them into a willing consumer. In the end, marketing is a skill, and like any other skill, it requires tools to get the job done properly. Which ones are the best, and how can you use them effectively? Google Analytics The online world is a door of opportunity. It’s a space where every demographic can roam freely, meaning if you market your services or products there, you are guaranteed to attract some interest. Google Analytics monitors this interest and is a viable marketing tool. It shows you where customer traffic is flowing through, pinpointing trends and interests. It flags keywords, so that you can then know precisely what your target audience is searching for. Consequently, your business can adapt accordingly and evolve into something new based on the wants and needs of your consumers. This is precisely what a marketing tool should provide; not just a one-way feed to the customer, but also giving their feedback directly to you. If nothing else, you’re joining a conversation that allows you to cater to the customer. Basecamp Every business needs a space where each idea can be tried and tested. It needs to be safe, secure and only viewed by the relevant persons involved. Fortunately, online software makes this possible. A collaboration website and app, Basecamp provides a safe space to both plan and problem solve. It’s a website that knows how vital teamwork is to corporate success, and encourages it through notice board posts, project assignments and comments, allowing a constant flow of creation and feedback online. It can be accessed in the office or on the move on the user’s personal device, such as a smartphone or laptop, keeping business activities both safe and agile. Consequently, this is a new brand of efficiency, and marketing is benefited by it due to the simple fact that ideas and feedback can be shared anywhere, anytime, in collaboration with peers and superiors. If it’s purposed in such a way, it can be a permanent link to the world of marketing. It can help create a unified vision and operate as a resource of opportunity. Local Means Depending on your business’s size and stature, broadcasting your services to the world can be a mistake. Advertising campaigns cost more and more depending on their size, which is why only the biggest businesses are embellished around the world. Put it this way; if you’re running a small shop on coastal town, advertisements outside the local area won’t help you and only waste your money. Unfortunately, no one is going to drive down from the city to browse your wears! Consequently, catering to those on your home turf is the path forward. For local marketing, small and centralised marketing can mean you win big. If you’re a b2c business, personalised ads are likelier to win more favourable responses. Holding some tangible advertising can spark a connection between customer and business, one that far outstrips a spam email or a generic billboard towering over Central London.

Friday, May 22, 2020

Four Unconventional Ways to Use Tech for Job Searches In 2016

Four Unconventional Ways to Use Tech for Job Searches In 2016 Technology is ruling our life, so  much that is has become a tool of our survival. There is no area of life where technology doesn’t manifest, in some way or the other and the same holds true for job searches. Technology has turned out as an indispensable aid for jobseekers, and now there is hardly anyone who doesn’t use company websites, online job portals or LinkedIn to apply to new jobs. But is it all that technology can offer to jobseekers in 2016? Certainly not; this post talks about the unconventional uses of tech to either find your next job or make the process easy. In the last 10 years, the job search process has evolved a lot. While in its yesteryears the process involved scouring newspapers and classifieds for jobs, today job portals and professional social networks have replaced all the traditional means and methods. But if you want to remain ahead of the game, then it is required that you incorporate the latest changes in technology in your search process and use them innovatively  to create an opportunity where it’s not readily visible to others. This is 2016, already half gone, and the competition is ever growing. It is ruthless and more unforgiving than ever. Therefore, it helps to know a couple or more secrets of using technology in 2016 to assist with your job hunt. There is more to social media for jobs than LinkedIn When we talk social media and jobs in one breath, we are reminded of LinkedIn. There is not an iota of doubt regarding the effectiveness and significance of LinkedIn, but it would be criminal to limit your vision to this professional social network. There are many other ways in which you can utilize social media to get recruited. Beyond Facebook Groups there is Twitter, and then there is Youtube, where you can create a video resume, an audio-visual experience that leaves the other person wanting for more. Or, you can also do a search on people search engines like Pipl.com to possibly find someone who works at one of the companies where you are going to apply for a job. Smart apps for smart people With smartphones becoming a necessity for any white collar professional it was only a matter of time before it could also become an indispensable tool for job searches. There is more than one way in which you can use your smartphone to get an interview call. Apply on the go while travelling to a vacation, or use mobile apps to hunt down the best opportunities, the utility of a smartphone for a jobseeker is undisputed. We already know by now that a growing number of jobseekers are using mobile apps for job search. However, as opposed to popular apps like LinkedIn,   there are other lesser known options also such as Weave, a tinder-like appearing app that allows users to swipe through potential professional contacts in there vicinity.   Then there is Reach that allows users to find professionals by distance.   All in all, job hunting is going to become a totally mobile business in the coming future. Video as a job search tool Yes, Youtube is a prominent and popular job search tool, and in fact it is the easiest to set up. Building your own channel and a video resume should not take much time. Yet, there is more to video as a job search aid than Youtube. CareerSushi is a video platform that allows candidates to build video profiles for themselves. The one reason why recruiters love video resumes and profiles is because it allows them to have a firsthand view of the candidate’s interpersonal skills, which include their ability to speak, communicate and get their point across, and that, too, at the expense of the candidate.   Video interviewing saves a lot of hiring resources for employers and that’s one of the reasons behind the rising popularity of platforms like HireVue amongst the recruiter community. Google Ads and Facebook Social Ads While setting up Google Adwords to advertise your brand is not the easiest thing to do, it still remains an effective way of making yourself to a wide global audience. However, you will require a blog of your own, or an online portfolio that will serve as the landing, meaning the page where the recruiter will be taken to upon clicking your ad. This might be one of the most tech savvy and impressing way of presenting yourself to a prospective employer.   Once the recruiter gets interested and lands on your blog, he can easily go through your work, your CV, and all other achievements that you might have included there and get a better sense of your suitability for the role. Similarly, Facebook has its own version, which it calls Facebook Social Ads. About the Author This post is one of the many that Saurabh has written to specifically benefit the jobseeker community. While traditional methods like subscribing to job alerts still hold strong, these methods would help you gain access to a greater number of opportunities.    To get access to his other posts, you can follow him on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Sunday, May 17, 2020

Is Being a Freelancer the Right Career Path for You

Is Being a Freelancer the Right Career Path for You Is Being a Freelancer the Right Career Path for You? One of the biggest growth areas in terms of job types in recent years has been the rise of the freelancer. This is someone who is self-employed or maybe is even their own company. They work with other businesses or individuals offering freelance services. There are nearly countless different types of job you can try in this area but how do you know if it is the right choice for you? Is it right for you?Being a freelancer of any description has its pros and cons. Even some of the things that might seem like a major benefit can also be a major downside â€" you can have whatever holidays you want but remember you won’t get paid when you don’t work is just one example. You can work whatever hours you want but you are the only person to get things done and you don’t get paid if the work isn’t finished.Here are some questions to ask yourself to help evaluate if the freelance career option is right for you.1. Can you manage your time?If you are someone who needs to be chased to d o things and lacks the drive to get things done without a boss over your shoulder, then freelancing might not be right for you. There’s nothing wrong with that but you need to recognize this trait. If you can manage your time, motivate yourself and make sure stuff gets done, then you could have the right mentality for the freelance life.2. Can you bounce back?Being your own business can be difficult and if you get knocks, you need to bounce back. If you take things to heart and find it hard to recover from knock-backs, then the freelance life might not be for you. Having a support network of other freelancers, friends and family can help as well.3. Can you market yourself?Some people aren’t comfortable marketing themselves and what they do but to get work, you need to do just this. There are lots of different ways and there’s no need to be old-fashioned salesy to get work. But you need to market yourself, network and showcase what you do in different ways to get those clients. 4. Do you love learning and being challenged?Often being a freelancer means constantly being challenged and learning new things. Even if you have decades experience in your industry, there are still new things to learn. And then there’s the whole business of being a business â€" admin, bookkeeping, marketing, client networking. There’s always something new to learn. Why you might want to be a freelancerIf you answered positively to these questions above, then you are already in a good position to consider a freelance career. But why would you want to be a freelancer?You are the bossTop of any list of reasons to become a freelancer is the benefit of being your own boss. Unless you are very lucky, there’s a chance you have run into a less than admirable boss or manager at some point in your career. The idea of removing that person from your life is a big benefit.But there’s also something to remember about this. Being the boss also means the responsibility is all yours. Th ere’s no one to blame if things go wrong. No one to refer the awkward customer to. So bear in mind that being the boss means being in charge. If you are good with that, you have a ticked box.You control the business directionLike the dodgy manager, we have most all worked in situations where the business has taken a direction that seemed baffling or counter-intuitive. We’ve been left scratching our heads. Being your own company means you set the course, decide where the company is going and make the big choices. Like being the boss that also means the big responsibility but at least you can stand behind what you chose with confidence.Time and location freedomIf you are the boss and set the direction of the business, you can also set the working hours and where you work. That means if you are a night owl and want to work from midnight until 6 am, you can. However, also remember that there’s a good percentage of your clients will work normal hours, so you might need to be around to communicate with them.The ability to work where you want is one of the positives of being a freelance with few downsides. Many choose to work at home while others like to use coworking spaces.You can even spend the morning working in the local coffee shop with free Wi-Fi or the local library. You can work on the beach, in the back of a camper-van, in a hotel or anywhere else you want.You choose who and what you work onLike choosing the company direction, you also get the freedom to choose who you want to work with and what you want to work on. Maybe you want to be a web designer and concentrate on creating websites for companies working in the food industry â€" that’s your choice. Choosing a niche can be beneficial for your business and means when you create that freelance CV, you have loads of the right experience on it. Just make sure it is a profitable one first.Your earnings potential is limitlessWhen you are an employee, you are paid a salary. It might increase on a regul ar basis, say every year. But there is always a limit because the company will have a pay scale. When you work for yourself, the sky is the limit. You can earn as much as you have the ability to earn. There’s no upper limit apart from time and your physical ability to do the work.Career pathBeing a freelancer isn’t for everyone and there’s nothing wrong with that. But if you can tick the boxes and the benefits appeal, you can set yourself on an amazing and interesting career path. You may even end up running an agency with others working for you or a collection of freelancers working together. There are so many potential paths that you will always have something to work towards and goals to achieve. previous article Job-Winning Resume Pack next article Free Light Grayish Green Resume Template you might also like6 Online Gigs You Can Do During Coronavirus Outbreak (To Offset Your Lost Income)

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Exclusive for Fresh Graduates Top 5 Secrets to Finding a Job Online

Exclusive for Fresh Graduates Top 5 Secrets to Finding a Job Online How do you get a job online without experience? This is perhaps one of the principal concerns plaguing fresh graduates when they finally step out of the confines of school into the world of employment.Experience is a key qualification that companies are looking for, and online employers are no different.evalIt is interesting to note that some newly graduated job seekers can secure their dream jobs while some settle for occupations that merely pay the bills. As more and more people are discovering the benefits of working from home, the competition for stay-at-home jobs has also tightened.Luckily, there are strategies that you can take on to help you get hired and grant you the experience the freedom and perks of working online.Top Secret #1: Develop a reputable online presenceevalIt’s not just companies that need reputation management. As a job-seeker hunting for an occupation online, it only seems logical that you should also possess a trustworthy presence on the internet. Still, m any people take this for granted.According to a study on the role of social media in today’s recruitment process, 2 out of 5 companies screen candidates through social media.Here are other takeaways from the same research:65% of employers assess an applicant’s professionalism through their social conduct.51% of employers research about applicants online to assess their compatibility with the company.43% of companies rejected candidates based on information they found online. Their reasons for refusing to hire an applicant is one or a combination of the following:Inappropriate content on social profiles An entrepreneur and an employee may have major differences, but both would do well in their fields if they have a creative mind.Just because you are seeking for an employer doesn’t mean you should only limit yourself to the conventional ways of job search. Have an entrepreneurial mindset and think outside the box. More than just following a set of rules in a company, put yoursel f out there and let employers know how you can make a difference. Work ethic is important, but innovative ideas will take you places.Top Secret #4:Do your own researchBogus companies are proliferating because of the increasing number of online job hunters. Just because you are a fresh graduate doesn’t mean you can’t be selective about the companies you send applications to.If you want to get a legitimate job, find a trustworthy job site or company to start with. It also helps to read about testimonials from both clients and employees of a company to see if you fit into their work culture. Companies like LinkedIn and 20four7VA are reputed to help clients connect with the best applicants suited for a job.Top Secret #5:Customize yourResumeevalevalSending out a vague or untailored resumeis an elementary mistake you can’t afford to make.If you want to apply as a virtual secretary, list down your qualifications, pertinent experience, and skills that make you the best person for the job. If you are an aspiring web designer, let employers know what sets you apart from other applicants.Having a customized resumenot only helps you get noticed by companies; it’s also an effective practice to help you find an employer you’re most compatible with in terms of work culture, schedule, and ideas.Don’t just settle for jobs that pay the bills. Practice these strategies and you will soon find an online job that is equal parts fulfilling financially and professionally.

Sunday, May 10, 2020

So What Does That Recruiter Really Think of Your Resume

So What Does That Recruiter Really Think of Your Resume Jason Alba of Jibber Jobber is hosting a resume critique extravaganza over on the Jibber Jobber blog and the invited guests are recruiters and resume experts. Each judge is weighing in and offering opinions on one anonymous job seekers resume content and design. OK, its not exactly American Idol, but there are several Simon Cowell-esque comments to view and lots of great resume writing advice. The recruiters and resume writers are clearly on the same page as evidenced by the consistency in their comments. All agree that a strong resume needs to showcase accomplishments over tasks, clearly communicate the candidates core brand and value add, and have a neat, clean, and eye-catching visual design. If you would like to have your own resume critiqued, without having the content on full view to everyone, email me for a free resume assessment (my style is much more like Paula Abdul and I will tell you what is working in your current resume as well as what can be improved).

Friday, May 8, 2020

4 Job Skills Important For Your Resume

4 Job Skills Important For Your ResumeYour resume should be written in such a way that it clearly outlines your skills and experience. One of the most essential parts of your resume is the verbs that you use in describing your accomplishments. Without your goal as well as goals of your accomplishments, you will not be able to present yourself as an experienced worker. In fact, you would not be able to stand out among your competition.Your goal is to put yourself in a position where you can get a job in any field you desire to enter. This is the core of your strategy for getting a job. The key to success lies in making sure that your resume contains the right verbs to keep your employer coming back for more.Here are a few verb that will help you accomplish your goal. Each verb you use depends on how you approach the job. This is why it is crucial that you learn which ones to use in which situation.The first one is your first words that you will write in your work history section. Desc ribe your experiences starting from the moment you first got hired until the time you left your current job. This is a concise way to give a snapshot of your work history. Be specific about what you did for each employer. Your resume is not for a generic description but to draw attention to your best assets that you have acquired through your experiences.Describe your job as a means of establishing a thorough work history. But in addition to your past jobs, you also need to list all the other types of jobs you have held as well. Include the dates of when they occurred. That way you can make a strong point. Even if you are doing anything else during the period you are not necessarily excluded from the information section, especially if you were not carrying out those activities in the job.You can also include your work area in your resume. For example, if you had worked as a sales representative in a mall, you can say so. But you might as well mention the other places you worked such as in a warehouse, office or as a supervisor. Try to make your work area as relevant as possible to the job. If it was in a garage, it is better to mention it, while if it was an office, then include that in your work history.One of the most important aspects of your resume is to put down all the high profile tasks you have accomplished in your previous jobs. You may want to go into great detail about some of them. But remember that you must put your achievements in a perspective. Just telling of your achievements will not help you because it might create the impression that you only got these jobs because you have all the advantages in getting promoted to the next level. You need to put the details in perspective to add credibility to your resume.It is up to you to make the right decision regarding the right words to use and which ones will best suit your objective. These are just a few of the most important resume verbs to remember in order to impress your employer and appear mor e impressive to future employers.