Should You Be Facebook Friends with Your Manager

Should You Be Facebook Friends with Your Manager Have you ever logged into Facebook to  find a shiny red notification that turns out to be a friend request from your boss? To accept, or not to accept: that is the question. Thanks to social media, the  line between our personal and professional lives is blurring; everyones feeling it and no one knows exactly where to draw the line. Theres no universal rulebook to follow and the answer certainly isnt black and white; it will  incite fear in some and total nonchalance in others. To help you decide what you should do, we asked a panel of 11 employment and career experts to weigh in with their opinions  Marian Bloodworth Using social media systems at work brings with it certain considerations. Communications with colleagues may well be easier but it is still important to ensure that they are appropriate in tone and content. Asking a direct report to be a friend on Facebook could place that employee in a difficult position, particularly if they wish to refuse, for example because they prefer to keep their private and work lives separate. It also blurs the professional lines between the manager and employee, and creates the risk that the manager may not be seen as capable of making impartial decisions regarding the employee, for example in relation to pay/bonus and promotion prospects. @emplawmarian is an  Employment Partner at Kemp Little LLP James Nathan This is a tricky question, but the answer really depends on you and what you put on Facebook. For most people who post normal stuff, family friends, holidays then there is no reason why you shouldn’t really. However, don’t forget that what you post is not only available for your ‘friends’ to see, but depending on their privacy settings, other people too. We can only control our own privacy settings. If you are in any doubt then the answer should be no. @JamesNathan  is the Managing Director at The James Nathan Experience Liz Sebag-Montefiore No, I think it’s safer to use Facebook for social networking, largely because you don’t have control of photos/comments that could be added an inappropriate social media photo or post may have negative professional repercussions. Not to mention the fact that some have been ‘Facebook fired’ for posting things they should not.  Studies show that workplace friendships have positive effects but use a little caution.  LinkedIn the network to use for connecting with managers, suppliers, competitors and is the professional network. You need to be visible to others in the business community and this is an important part of your personal branding. @LizSM10Eighty  is a career coach at 10Eighty Alison Cardy Since you are already a savvy social media user who refrains from posting inappropriate content and thoughtfully considers what you do share, yes, it’s perfectly fine to be friends with managers online. You are being a responsible Facebook user already, aren’t you? @CardyCareers  is a career coach and author of  Career Grease: How to Get Unstuck and Pivot Your Career Lysha Holmes I think Facebook has always been seen as the most personal of all social media; however, the invisible line which divides these barriers is ever changing and whereas 2 yrs ago I would have answered this as no, now, in 2016, I would answer, if both parties want to! I befriend many business acquaintances now on facebook as I think all social media channels offer different ways to communicate with people. Dont want to be friends with your boss? Dont accept the invite! @LyshaHolmes is the owner of Qui Recruitment Ltd Jon Gregory Oh yes. Why pass up on a wonderful opportunity to endlessly show how great you really are? Let your wit, charm, personality, massive potential and utter devotion to duty shine through your every post and comment. Whether youre a career-builder, or just need to strengthen your job security, building a closer relationship with the person holding the guillotine handle is the only right thing to do. If theyre daft enough to connect with you, that is. @LetsFireWalk (aka Jon) is a job hunt coach at  Win-That-Job.com Caroline Stokes I like to believe we bring our entire selves to work, so if manager and direct report want to mutually connect via Facebook, then of course, do it. We’ve evolved a lot since the early days of Facebooking when the worst could be revealed about our social habits. If in doubt, don’t connect with your boss or employee.  By way of sharing how to reject a Facebook request gracefully, an editor declined my FB connection a few months ago.  Instead of my request being ignored, the editor emailed to explain he only uses FB for family and friends, not business friends. I respected his decision and I have a relationship with him on his business email and Twitter. You can do the same, if you want to keep employees or line management separate from your personal life. @theforwardco is an executive headhunter coach at FORWARD  Aimee Bateman I think it’s a personal decision. You hear about the instances where it has worked, and others where it hasn’t. Currently, I am friends with my team on Facebook and it works for me. It depends on your emotional intelligence and ability to assess the situation. That, and having a shared understanding of trust â€" what stays personal and what remains in the business. @Aimee_Bateman  is the CEO founder of Careercake.com Farhan Raja Don’t add your boss if you do the following on Facebook: you are quite outspoken, share strong political views, are politically incorrect, or if you post videos, memes or photos of yourself that you wouldn’t want your grandparents to see. If, on the other hand, you’re fairly inactive, posting  a few holiday photos every now and then, usually write on peoples timelines to wish happy birthdays, wedding congrats and so on, then I don’t see any harm in adding your boss. Essentially, steer away from posting anything which could create a negative perception of you to your boss in general. @interviewology  (aka Farhan) is the founder, career communications coach at  jobinterviewology.com Rebecca Fraser There is always the need to keep your professional and personal lives separate. Unfortunately, with the introduction of online social networks these boundaries are becoming less clear. If you are considering adding your boss on Facebook, considering the limitations this may have to your sharing personal information, or how, if you did share this personal information it may impact your career. There are numerous court cases that demonstrate how blurred these lines are where people have lost their employment or been unable to claim against dismissal. What appears in social media can be deemed as open access to anyone, so for this reason, consider closely about whether or not adding your boss or manager on Facebook is the right decision. @RebeccaFraserCo is a career coach John Feldmann It depends. If you enjoy a relaxed, casual work atmosphere and company culture AND you don’t have anything on your Facebook page that you would be afraid to share with your manager in person, then there shouldn’t be any problem befriending your manager or boss on social media. If either of these don’t apply, it’s probably best to keep your relationship strictly professional. John Feldmann  is  writer, blogger and content developer for Insperity Recruiting Services

LifeSkills National Careers Week 2015, 2-6 March

LifeSkills National Careers Week 2015, 2-6 March This post is part of the series we are doing for National Careers Week 2015. Career Geek is the official blog partner of National Careers Week 2015. Visit NCW site. See all posts for NCW2015 on Career Geek. We are delighted to announce the launch of LifeSkills National Careers Week 2015, March 2nd, at Chelsea FC Foundation, Stamford Bridge. Nick Boles MP, the Skills Minister, will be sharing his thoughts on the importance of quality careers interventions for young people. Last year NCW reached over 1.5 million people across the UK with 1600+ secondary schools, 350+ FE Colleges and over 80 Universities taking part. With hundreds of careers events and workshops taking place between the 2nd and the 5th March, make sure you support, champion and follow across social media and National Press to ensure more young people than ever get the benefit of quality free careers interventions during NCW2015. The Founder of National Careers Week, Nick Newman, says Each year National Careers Week has grown and floursihed. It has only been able to do this with the support and goodwill of the careers community at large, for which we continue to be so grateful. Alongside this incredible source of careers goodwill comes the invaluable support of our main sponsors, LifeSkills. They have helped NCW become the force it is today with their financial support, their resources and their continuous drive to improve the lives of young people. Lets work together to make the biggest positive difference for greatest possible number of young people You can follow Nick on Twitter : @newmanswords , the Campaign :  @NCW2015 and search for the #NCW2015 tag. You May Also Like: 1.  An Interview With Nick Newman, Founder and Champion of National Careers Week 2.  5 Motivational Quotes To Remember In Life 3.  5 Creative Resume Designs That Will Make Recruiters Look Twice 4.  Your Career is Your Career â€" Don’t Let Anyone Complicate It For You 0

45 Selenium Interview Questions To Hire Or Get Hired With - Algrim.co

45 Selenium Interview Questions To Hire Or Get Hired With - Algrim.co Selenium is a staple when it comes to automation testing for web applications. Web applications these days have complex user stories that solve broad problems. From fintech tools that connect to your checking account and web applications which buy homes right online. These types of robust solutions to big, broad, architectural challenges require software engineering to take on a robust form. Testing and automation help to ensure software that gets released as part of the agile software development lifecycle is functional and operates as expected. As an engineer, having these testing skills will be the way to land jobs at larger scale organizations that serve software to millions of people. Below is my Selenium Interview Question guide, with answers. With all answers to these Selenium questions, it's important that you use your own best judgment to the answer. Meaning, take these practical examples as a study guide â€" but I wouldn't recommend answering them verbatim. Mostly bec ause it won't come across genuine and with confidence, and have that cadence to your interview can go a long way. 1. What is Selenium? What are the different elements of Selenium? Selenium refers to a popular automated testing suite. It has been designed in a manner that it supports and encourages automation testing of the functional factors of web-based applications, not to mention a number of browsers and platforms. Because of its existence within the open source community, it has become a very accepted tool among testing professionals. It is not just one of the single tools or utilities but it is a package for the testing of several tools and for the same reason, it is referred to as the Suite. Each of these tools would be designed for the purpose of catering to different testing and test environmental requirements. As such, the suite package comes with a number of sets of tools. Selenium remote control: this is a server, which allows the user to initiate test scripts within the desired programming language. It also allows execution of the test scripts in a large range of browsers. Selenium integrated development environment; this is a record and playback type of tool, which is distributed as a Firefox type of plugin. Selenium WebDriver: this is a different tool and has a number of benefits over the Selenium RC. WebDriver could directly communicate with the web browser and utilizes the native compatibility for it to automate. Selenium Grid: Selenium Grid is utilized for the distribution of the test execution on different platforms and environments in a concurrent manner. 2. What is automation testing? This is the process of testing the software of the application with the use of one automation testing tool in order to ascertain the defects. During this process, the execution of the test scripts and generation of the results would be done automatically through a number of automation tools. This is needed when there is a large amount of regression type test cases. Some of the popular type tools for automation testing would include Selenium WebDriver and HP QTP. 3. Describe the advantages of automation testing. Opportunity to reuse the code. It can be created one time and executed severally with limited maintenance. It saves time and money as automation testing is faster during implementation. Automation testing allows for easy reporting. It generates automatic reports after the test execution. It is strong and versatile. It allows the clients to integrate with Cross Browser Testing Tools and Github. It can be low cost maintenance and is cheaper compared to manual testing occurring during the long term. There is minimal manual intervention as the test scripts can be run without significant supervision. Automation testing is easy for compatibility testing. It allows for parallel execution within the combination of the different operating systems and browser environments 4. What are the disadvantages that come with Selenium WebDriver? It is a tool, which automates the browser so that it imitates the real user actions of the web. Some of the challenges include; It is not possible to test the windows application. There is a limited amount of reporting. One may have to handle a page load. One may have to handle dynamic elements. It is not possible to test mobile applications. 5. What type of tests can be automated? The main focus is the automation of the test cases for the purpose of doing regression testing, sanity testing, and smoke testing. At times, based on the project and the testing time estimation, there is a focus on the end-to-end testing. 6. How many test cases can be automated in a day? This is dependent on the test case scenario complexity and the length. One can automate 2 to 5 test scenarios a day when the complexity is not that high. At times, it is only possible to manage one or even fewer test scenarios in a day when the level of complexity is high. 7. What is a framework? The framework defines a set of rules r best practices, which can be followed in a systematic manner in order to achieve the desired effect. There are several different modes of automation frameworks and the ones which are most common include the following; Data-driven testing framework. Hybrid testing framework. Keyword driven testing framework. 8. Have you created a framework before? If you are a beginner: you can claim that you did not get an opportunity to create a framework from scratch. You may have used the framework, which is already available. The contribution would be in the creation of test cases with the use of existing frameworks. In the event you are a beginner but have good knowledge on the creation of frameworks, you can say that you were involved in the developing of frameworks along with other automation testers within the company. If you are an experienced tester, you may claim that you have contributed in the developing frameworks or claim that have created the framework from scratch. There may not have been any automation process within the previous company and you designed the framework from scratch. 9. What is the difference between assert and verify commands Verify: the verify command is there to check whether the element is on the page. In the event that it is not then the test will proceed in the executions. In the verification setting, every command would run guaranteed even in the event that any of the tests would fail. Asset: assert allows for checking whether elements are on the page or if they are not. The test would stop on the step there is a failure if the asserted element is not there. The test is going to be ended at the point where the check fails. 10. Why should the testers opt for Selenium and not QTP? Selenium happens to be more popular for the following reasons: Selenium is an open source tool while QTP is commercially based which means you pay for it. Selenium supports Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari and Firefox on different operating systems such as Linux, Windows and Mac. QTP, on the other hand, is limited to supporting Internet Explorer, which is the most unpopular browser thus far. Selenium is used particularly for testing of web-based applications through QTP may be utilized for testing the client-server application as well. Selenium may support a number of programming languages such as Perl, Python, and Ruby though QTP supports only the VB script. 11. What is the difference between sleep() methods and setSpeed()? Thread.sleep (): it is going to stop the current (java) thread for the specified period. This is only done once. It takes a single argument in the integer format. It waits only once at the command given at sleep. Set Speed (): for the particular amount of time, it is going to stop the execution for each Selenium command. This would take a single argument within an integer format. Each command would be run after setSpeed delay by the number of milliseconds mentioned within set Speed. 12. What is the same origin policy? How can one avoid it? The same origin policy is introduced for security reasons because it makes certain the content of the site is never accessible through scripts from another site. According to the policy, any code that is loaded within the browser would only operate within the domain of the website. In order for one to avoid the ‘Same Origin Policy’, proxy injection can be used within the proxy injection mode the Selenium server would act as the client configured HTTP proxy, that sits between the browser and the application under test and then mask the AUT under a fictional type of URL. 13. What are the heightened privilege browsers? The objective of the heightened privileges is similar to Proxy Injection as it allows the websites to do something which is not commonly permitted. The main difference is the browsers would be launch in a special mode, which is known as heightened privileges. Through the use of these browser mode, Selenium core can open the AUT in a direct manner and also read/ write the content without going through the entire AUT through the Selenium RC server. 14. What are the features of TestNG and list some of the functionality within TestNG that makes it more effective. The TestNG is one of the testing frameworks based according to JUnit and NUnit for simplifying the range of testing needs from Unit Testing toward Integration Testing. Similarly, the functionality that makes it efficient when it comes to testing frameworks would include: Support for the data-driven testing. Support for annotations. Flexible test configuration. The ability for one to re-execute the failed test cases. 15. What is the difference between the explicit and the implicit wait? The explicit wait is a one-timer and used for particular searches while the implicit wait sets a timeout for each of the successive web element searches. For the specified amount of time, it is going to try to look for element again before throwing a no such element type of exception. It waits for the elements to present themselves. 16. What are the keyword driven framework and the data-driven framework? The data-driven framework is where the test data has been separated and kept outside of the test scripts while the test case logic is in the Test Scripts. The test data is read from the external files and are loaded into the variables within the Test Script. The variables are utilized both for the input values and for the verification values. Keyword driven framework: the keyword driven framework needs the development of data tables as well as, keywords that are independent on the test automation. Within a keyword-driven test, the functionality of the application under the test is documented within a table and step by step instructions for each of the tests. 17. When should you use Selenium IDE? Selenium IDE is one of the easiest and simplest tools within the Selenium package. Its recording and playback features make it very easy to learn with minimal acquaintances to the programming language. Selenium IDE is optimal for the naïve user. 18. What is Selenese? Selenese is the language used to write test scripts within Selenium IDE. 19. What are the different locator types within Selenium? The locator may be termed as an address, which identifies web elements in a unique manner within the web page. So in order to identify the web elements in an accurate manner and precisely there are different locator types when it comes to Selenium: ClassName ID TagName LinkText PartialLinkText Xpath 20. What is an Xpath? An Xpath is used for locating a web element based according to the XML path. The XML is an abbreviation for extensible markup language and is utilized for storing and transporting the arbitrary data. It stores the data in a key-value pair that is similar to the HTML tags. Considering they are markup languages and because they go under the same umbrella, XPath can be used for the purpose of locating the HTML elements. The fundamentals that are behind the location of elements through XPath is traversing between different elements across the entire page and so enabling the user to find elements with the reference of another. 21. What is the difference between ‘single slash’ and ‘double slash’ within XPath? Single slash is utilized for the creation of XPath with absolute path. That would be to claim the XPath would be initiated in order to begin the selection from the document node/ start node. Double slash is utilized for the creation of Xpath with a relative path. That would be to say the XPath has to be created in order to begin selection from any place in the document. 22. How is it possible to get a text of web element? Get command would be utilized to retrieve the inner text of the particular web element. The command would not need parameters but returns as a string value. It is also one of the most extensively utilized commands for verification of messages, errors, labels that are displayed on the web pages. 23. How does one find more than one web element in the list? At times, you may find elements of the same type such as multiple hyperlinks and images arranged in an ordered type lit. So it makes a lot of sense for one to deal with such elements through a single code piece and this would be implemented through the WebElement List. 24. What is the difference between the driver.close() and the driver.quit command? Quit(): not like the close () method, the quit () method closes all of the windows which the program has opened. In the same way as the close () method, the command neither needs any parameter nor does it return any particular value. Close (): WebDriver’s close () approach closes the web browser window, which the user is currently working on or we can also claim the window, which is being accessed by the WebDriver. The command neither needs any parameter and it does not return any value. 25. Can Selenium handle windows based pop up? Selenium is an automation testing type of tool that supports web application testing. That means windows pop up may not be handled with the use of Selenium. 26. How can you handle a web-based pop up? The WebDriver offers the users with an efficient manner of handling the pop-ups with the use of the Alert interface. There are some methods, which can be used with the Alert interface. Void dismiss ()- the accept (0 method clicks on the cancel button as soon as the pop up window comes up. Void accept ()- the accept () method clicks on the ‘Ok’ button as soon as the pop up window comes up. String getText()- the getText (0 method allows for the returning of the text as illustrated on the alert box. Void sendkeys (String stringtoSend) â€" The sendKeys () method enters the particular string pattern into the alert box. 27. What are the different framework types? Library architecture testing framework: the basic fundamentals behind the framework would be determination of the common steps and then group them according to functions under a library and then call the functions in the test scripts when they are needed. Module based testing framework: this type of framework divides the ‘Application Under Test’ into the logical and isolated type modules. For each of the modules there is a separate and independent test script. So when these test scripts taken together it builds a larger test script, which gives a representation of more than one module. Data driven testing framework: the data-driven testing framework would assist the user so that they segregate the test script logic and the test data from each other. It allows the user to store the test data into a database, which is external. The data may also be conventionally be stored within ‘key-value’ pairs. So the key may be utilized for accessing and populating the data within the particular test scripts. Keyword driven testing framework: the keyword driven testing framework is an extension to the data-driven testing framework in the sense it not only segregates the test data from the particular scripts but also keeps particular sets of code that belong to the test script into an external datatype file. The behavior-driven development framework: this framework provides for the automation of the functional validations in an easily readable and understandable format to the developers and business analysts. Hybrid testing framework: the keyword driven testing framework is an extension to the data-driven testing framework in the sense that it does not only segregate the test data from the script but also keeps particular code belonging to the test script into an external type of data file. 28. What can be considered is the difference between the relative and the relative path? The absolute XPath begins from the root node and concludes with the desired descendant element node. It begins with the top HTML node and ends in an input node. It begins with a single forward slash. Relative XPath begins from any node that is between the HTML page to the current elemental node, which is the last node of the element. It begins with a double forward slash. 29. Distinguish between the hard asset and soft assert. Soft assert: soft assert collects errors during the @test. It does not throw an exception when the assert fails and may continue with the next phase after the assert statement. Hard assert: it throws an AssertException immediately when an assert statement fails and the test suite proceeds with the next @test. 30. What are the verification points that are there in Selenium? In Selenium IDE, one uses Selenese verify and assert type commands as the verification points. When it comes to the Selenium WebDriver, there does not happen to be any built in features for the verification points. This is dependent on the coding style. Some of the verification points in this scenario would be: Checking for particular text Checking for the page title Checking for certain elements 31. What are the exceptions that one has faced when it comes to Selenium WebDriver? Some of the exceptions include: ElementNotVisibleException StaleElementreferenceException Element Not visible Exception This exception can be thrown when one is trying to locate particular elements on a webpage that would not be visible even in the event that it is present in the DOM. If one is trying to locate an element with the XPath that licks with two or more elements. State element reference exception A State Element Reference Exception can be thrown in one of two cases. The first is a bit more common as compared to the second. The reasons for the Stale Element reference include: The element may have been entirely deleted The element is not attached anymore to the DOM You face this Stake Element Reference Exception at the time when the element that you are interacting with is destroyed and then recreated once more. When this occurs, the reference concerning the element in the DOM becomes stale. So you will not be able to get the reference to the element. There are exceptions that are faced as one proceeds. These would include the: TimeoutException WebDriverException IllegalStateException NoAlertPresentException NosuchwindowException 32. What is Selenium Remote control? Selenium IDE has limitations as concerns browser and language support. Through the use of Selenium RC limitation, this can be reduced. Selenium RC is java based and uses any language so that it can interact with the web application. On the different platforms and web browser for automating web application, Selenium RC can be used with Java, Python and Perl. Using the server is possible to bypass the restriction and run the automation script running against the web applications. 33. Why is Selenium RC utilized? Selenium IDE does not particularly support a number of functions such as the condition statements logging and reporting of the test results and iteration as well as, error handling and so forth considering the IDE only supports the HTML languages. In order to handle these problems Selenium RC, it supports Python, Ruby and PHP, through which it is possible to write the program to achieve the IDE issues. 34. What are the advantages that come with RC? It is possible to read or write data from / to .xls,.txt and so forth. Loops and conditions may be utilized for the sake of performance and flexibility. Similarly there is a chance to support a number of programming languages and operating systems. For any JAVA script enabled browser, Selenium RC may be utilized. 35. In Selenium, what are the Startpoints and the Breakpoints? Breakpoints: When you implement a breakpoint within the code, the implementation is going to stop at that position. This would assist in verifying the code is working well. Startpoints: this indicates the point from which the implementation is to start. The Startpoint would be utilized when a person wants to run the testscript from the middle of the code or the breakpoint. 36. Why would you choose Python as opposed to Java in Selenium? Java utilizes traditional braces in order to start and end the blocks while Python only utilizes indentation. Java programs can run slower when you compare them to the Python programs. Python seems to be simpler and more compact as opposed to Java. Java utilizes static typing though Python employs dynamic typing. 37. What are the issues, which are considered in Handling Ajax Call when it comes to Selenium WebDriver? It is hard to evaluate the risk that is linked with specific Ajax applications. Given the complete freedom to the developers so they modify the Ajax, application makes the entire testing process a challenge. The use of ‘pause’ command when handling Ajax call is not reliable. Long pause time makes the test very slow and it increases the time for testing. In this case, ‘waitforcondition’ command would be better in testing the Ajax applications. Creation of automated test requests can be hard when it comes to testing tools like Ajax applications because they utilize different serializations and encoding to submit their Post data. 38. What is Listeners in Selenium WebDriver? In Selenium, WebDriver, the listeners ‘listen’ to the event as defined within the Selenium script and behave in the right manner thus. It allows for the customization of TestNG reports or logs. There are two types of listeners, which are the TestNG and the WebDriver Listeners. 39. What is the desired capability and how is it useful when it comes to Selenium? The desired capability refers to a series of key pairs, which store the browser properties such as the browser name, version and the path of the browser driver in the system for determining the behavior of the browser during runtime. In the case of Selenium: It may be used for configuring the driver instance for the Selenium WebDriver. When you would like to run the test cases on different browsers with a number of different operating systems and versions. 40. Why would you need Session Handling when working with Selenium? When you are working with Selenium, Session Handling is a requirement. During test execution, the Selenium WebDriver would have to interact with the browser all of the time in order to execute particular commands. During the time of execution, it may also be possible that before the current execution is completed, another person may begin the execution of another script within the same machine and within a similar browser. In order to avoid this situation, Session Handling comes in handy. 41. What would be the advantage of using GitHub for the purposes of Selenium? Several people when working on the same project can update project details and then inform the other members of the team simultaneously. Jenkins can assist with building the project from the remote repository in a regular manner. That would help with keeping track of the failed type of builds. 42. What are the advantages that come with a Selenium Grid? Selenium Grid allows for multibrowser testing, multiplatform testing, and parallel test case executions. 43. What is a hub within Selenium Grid? This is a central point or a server, which controls the test executions on the different machines. 44. What is a node in Selenium Grid? This is a hub attached machine, which has instances that are running the test scripts. Unlike the hub, there may be more than one node in the Selenium Grid. 45. Explain the line of code WebDriver= new FirefoxDriver();. ‘WebDriver is the interface and the task is to create an object of type WebDriver Instantiating an object of the FirefoxDriver class.

The Case Against the Handwritten Thank You Note

The Case Against the Handwritten Thank You Note Yes â€" you read that right. I’m not sure you should send a handwritten thank you after your interview. I know that the formal thank you note has been the gold standard for classy candidates for the past several decades, but like the phone book, I think of it as an idea whose time may have passed. Here are 5 reasons why. Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'gZRv4gz8S7JTK7jCNYNNtQ',sig:'fWbSs7Q7E2GRmvDaewBzu9UqQG_0cia1EEqagAYBj6g=',w:'414px',h:'414px',items:'468764755',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })}); If you’re a mature jobseeker, one of your personal branding priorities should be to impress the company with your comfort with technology. The reason a handwritten note stands out is that it’s an analog gesture in a digital world. If you’re worried in any way that your skills may be perceived as out of date, perhaps an email would position you as more tech-savvy. I don’t know about you, but my handwriting does not reflect my inner calligrapher. My handwriting slants upward at about a 60-degree angle and makes every note look lopsided. The reader may think I’m optimistic if she’s a fan of handwriting analysis, or she may just think it looks sloppy. I tend to think faster than I can write legibly, so it would take me three or four attempts at copying over my note to make it perfectly neat and legible. I would rather spend my time crafting great email content than copying my sentences over and over like Bart Simpson at the blackboard. Unlike notes, emails can be shared at the click of a key. That means that the recruiter can forward your comments to the other decision makers in the process. Your thank you email should always contain some insights you gained from the interview and reiterate how interested you are in the position â€" it’s also your chance to revisit how your skills and experience are a match for the job. With email, you have the advantage of spelling and grammar checks. (Of course you always have that feature enabled, don’t you?) You’ll be much less likely to make an error in an email than if you rely on your own proofreading skills. And, you can clean up a mistake with a couple of keystrokes instead of starting over on a new notecard. (See #2 above.) You can add attachments to your email. You can send a link to an industry article you mentioned in the interview, or add references or a writing sample that was requested by the company. You can link to your LinkedIn profile or an organization where you volunteer. The digital possibilities are endless. For all these reasons, it may be time to switch to email. If it doesn’t feel old school enough to impress an employer, remember that the first email was sent in 1971. That makes it 44-year-old technology â€"older than the fax machine (invented in 1980.) Unlike the fax machine, email is still an acceptable business practice. Drop the pen and nobody gets hurt.

How to improve your focus - Debut

How to improve your focus - Debut Ahh, losing concentration. If you’re suffering with it, it can be hard to get back on track. I bet you’re even struggling to stay focused on this article right now, aren’t you? But stay with me, as I know the feeling. And speaking from experience both from slaving away over my dissertation to penning this article within my workplace I’ve managed to find simple solutions that help sharpen the mind to get that extra task done. And to make it that little bit more fun, I’ve split these methods into evoking your five senses. Let me help you get focused! Listen to the appropriate sounds What you can hear around you can have a massive impact on your ability to concentrate. It’s why silent study areas were invented, after all! Some people can work in a busy coffee shop with hustle and bustle, whilst others need to be locked away from all other sounds. For me personally, I’ve found my earphones to be my new best friend. When I’m working on a straightforward task, podcasts are my saving grace. I can catch up on my favourite shows whilst checking off that to-do list that I would otherwise procrastinate on by making a million cups of tea. If my project requires a bit more brain power or creativity, then I recommend study music. I’m personally a big advocate of the 24 hour YouTube playlists of LoFi Hip-hop/study beats. According to actual scientists, the frequency within this type of music improves concentration levels and allows your brain to process information much better. I’m even listening to it as I’m writing this… INCEPTION. Rest your eyes when you need to When we work, most of our sight will be trained on a screen. Whether it’s on a desktop for writing your essay or your mobile on the Debut app (cheeky cheeky). But the thing is, your eyes can only take so much straining on that fluorescent blue light. If your sight is getting a bit wobbly and a headache is setting in, then maybe it’s time to give your eyes a break. Take a walk, grab a coffee and for god sake look at something that ISN’T your phone. Unplug from the digital world for a little bit. If that means having a short kip to be more alert (especially if you’re a night owl) then go ahead and do it! Your eyes can tell you a million things about your body, so be sure to listen to them. Also, if you’re prescribed glasses, wear them. Seriously. Dress to focus, not to relax What you wear can really affect your energy levels. Whilst we all dream of working from home in our PJ’s, it’s not always the most productive thing to do, as it can make us feel sleepy and generally not in a good mental-state for work. Really consider what puts you in the right headspace. Get ready as if it were a normal day; shower, dress accordingly and go through your normal routine. It doesn’t matter if you’re not leaving the house; the way you dress can actually have a significant impact on your direction of focus. Also, if you’re going to the library or office, then you probably shouldn’t be in your pyjamas anyway. Not great social etiquette, my friend. Get a nose for your environment Alright, maybe Im stretching it on the smell sense, but the meaning is no less impactful. Just as getting dressed can influence the way you work, so can what surrounds you. Everyone works differently, so test out a few methods to see what really gets your brain ticking. Sitting in a straight back chair at a desk may be more productive than lying down on your bed, for example. You may work better in a room with natural light, or even somewhere that’s near greenery. At our old office, I used to work really well in these little isolation booths. As soon as I got in one of them, my fingers would fly across the keyboard. So do some recces to different areas of the library, office, home or even public spaces to see what suits you. If you want to take the smell sense literally, then you can actually get room diffusers/candles in scents that are designed to have an emotional aura. If you’re a big believer of aromatherapy, then stick one of these in your home working space and see what happens! Keep your appetite sated The final sense  taste  is a big one. It may seem obvious to say “make sure you eat”, but you wouldn’t believe how common it is for students to forgo lunch for the sake of an extra hour of studying. Don’t let this be you. Hunger can distract your majorly from working, I should know. Having a regular and balanced diet will not only help you regulate your schedule, but it should prevent you from snacking on unhealthy sweets and pouring gallons of caffeine straight down your throat. We all have days that need both of those things, but do your best to make sure that it’s not a regular occurrence. If you’re not sure of what things to make, our wonderful contributors have a couple of quick and simple ideas to whip up in a matter of minutes. Be it lunches, dinners or even desserts, take a look and see if any of these can help you feel energised for the day (or night) ahead. Do you have any extra tips for focusing? Let us know on Twitter or Instagram!   Download Debut  and  connect with us on  Facebook,  Twitter  and  LinkedIn  for more careers insights.

Reputation Management Part 3 Be a Tweeter

Reputation Management Part 3 Be a Tweeter This is part 3 of a 3 part series in reputation management across social media. This is post is about the benefits of being on Twitter. Part 1 was about building your reputation by fully utilizing your profile on LinkedIn.   Part 2 was about blogging and commenting on blogs. I recently gave a presentation on how to use multiple social media tools to build and manage an online reputation and only lightly covered Twitter.   I watched eyes roll and heads shake as I began referencing Twitter.   It is a highly misunderstood tool. My words of caution are Dont knock it until youve tried it and Twitter is only stupid if you arent following smart people.     Lets enter into this with an open mind. Lets enter into this with an open mind. With any new piece of technology, there are early adopters.   What this means for early adopters is that it is easier to become a big fish in a little pond, or it is easier to become recognized when there isnt as much competition.   Dont you want to stand out? Twitter is open and viewable by everyone.   This is a good thing as long as you understand the benefits and dangers of what this means. Basic Principles For Using Twitter Social is the key word here as we talk about Twitter.   You could almost look at it like a networking event.   Getting a lay of the land, listening, and meeting new people is kind of what this is all about. Listen: See what people are saying on Twitter.   See how people describe themselves in their profile.   See how they use Twitter language and code.   Observe for awhile. Share: There is a lot of information being shared on Twitter.   Personal and professional.   Skim the stream for the gems (usually contributed by smart folks). You will eventually want to share as well so be on the lookout for articles and information on the web that others would be interested in learning about. Respond: Weve got some basic etiquette on Twitter.   Thank people for mentioning you.   Be polite and professional.   Dont spam.   Simple, right.   Taking this respond concept one step further, offer help to those who need it (remember the give to get theory?) OK, youre ready to get started. Twitter Best Practices These were the Best Practices Twitter had on their site (at one time, but I cant find these points any longer) Share. Share photos and behind the scenes info about your business. Even better, give a glimpse of developing projects and events. Users come to Twitter to get and share the latest, so give it to them! Listen. Regularly monitor the comments about your company, brand, and products. Ask. Ask questions of your followers to glean valuable insights and show that you are listening. Respond. Respond to compliments and feedback in real time Reward. Tweet updates about special offers, discounts and time-sensitive deals. Demonstrate wider leadership and know-how. Reference articles and links about the bigger picture as it relates to your business. Champion your stakeholders. Re-tweet and reply publicly to great tweets posted by your followers and customers. Establish the right voice. Twitter users tend to prefer a direct, genuine, and of course, a likable tone from your business, but think about your voice as you Tweet. How do you want your business to appear to the Twitter community? Getting Started is as easy as 1, 2, 3 1.   Your Profile: Use your messaging (what you want to be known for) in the 160 characters you have to describe yourself in you Twitter profile! Use the same headshot youve used on LinkedIn and other profiles. Include the URL (website) for the best place for people to learn about you.   This could be LinkedIn or it could be your own site. This is how people come to know you! It should be complete and authentic! 2.   Your first few Tweets If you were to be known for sharing great information (a book, an article, an event, a quote) what would that be?   Your first tweets should be representative of who you are, what is important to you, and what you want to be known for.   Your profile and your recent tweets will be what people see.   It should always be the right message 3. Find and Follow Finding what I like to call smart people on Twitter can happen in many ways.   In order for you to get the most from Twitter as you begin, follow people you know (or would like to know) respect, or find interesting. Try It! 10 minutes each day, for at least 30 days, try doing some of these things: Look for interesting information to Retweet (RT means share) It complements the original Tweeter. Answer someones question Share an interesting article Read what other people are doing and Reply to their Twitter update Follow new followers and find new people to follow That should do it-   as long as you commit to doing it daily. You dont want to miss what is going on and what people are up to! Twitter is about being social! Building relationships Establishing a reputation Sharing information Learning Reputation Management Part 4 Facebook for Job Search!   Learn how Facebook helps you stay connected and manage your reputation among your closest allies!

Successful Resumes - How to Write One?

Successful Resumes - How to Write One?There are many ways to write a successful resume, and each one has its own purpose. Some resumes are done on paper while others are done online and some others are done by having them printed out.If you are in the market for a particular job then the way you appear on the resume matters a lot. This is because employers are looking for very specific things when it comes to resumes. As such, you should focus on how you can improve on your resume for the sake of getting more chances of getting hired.For instance, certain professions may require the use of certain types of printing. These may be the types of documents which most employers prefer to have printed. They include hard copies, laser printers and PC friendly printers. The latter are not just great at printing, but they also feature various functions that are helpful in the process of effective resume writing.Therefore, if you are a candidate for a particular job then you need to do all you can to have the most effective resumes. Here are some tips to help you with this:o Writing the resume: First of all, the resume must be able to clearly portray your skills and knowledge base. You must highlight the capabilities you possess which are necessary for the job. These include skills such as your abilities to work as part of a team, which is important to consider. It is also important to highlight what particular skills are needed which can be used in the current job position you are applying for.o Listing the qualifications and relevant experience: It is also essential to list all the qualifications you possess before listing your skills. This is necessary as it lists your credentials before they have been listed. This ensures that the employer knows what you have already been doing so far. While certain qualifications may be outdated or irrelevant, it is still important to list them so that the employer will know that you have the necessary qualifications to do the job.o References: References should also be included on the resume. The references must be listed in chronological order as they come. This is in order to properly represent your qualifications. The position you are applying for may also need any testimonials that may be included on the resume. In this case, you need to create a cover letter first to secure the details of the person whom you would like to use as your references.o References from your previous jobs: A recommendation letter may also be included in the resume. This letter must highlight all the qualities that you have acquired from your previous jobs. In addition, the resume must contain a clear explanation of why you want to leave your current job and move forward to a new one.