Monday, April 20, 2020

Strong Words on a Resume Can Be Difficult

Strong Words on a Resume Can Be DifficultStrong words on a resume can be a long process, but it can also take time to get the first draft that you may not like. In fact, most of us have had our version of a perfect resume on paper that did not get read. If you have been working hard for years in order to get ahead, this should not be a surprise to you.It may be a good idea to revise your resume even after you have it on paper. For example, if you spent a lot of time doing research, it may be worth revisiting your resume to make sure it is getting you what you need. In fact, if you are applying for jobs at the same company and you were recently laid off, it may be worth changing your resume or taking a new one altogether.You want your resume to be readable and yet be strong and powerful enough to convince the hiring manager that you are not only qualified, but that you are fit for the job. This is why wordiness is not always a good thing. Some people do it well, some people do not, an d a lot of other people do not have the time.The same type of employer can look at your resume without a professional eye and not notice the strong words on it, however, they can immediately tell if you are a fit for the job by reading the resume. That is why it is important to keep your resume and cover letter short, catchy, and concise.There are many elements of strong words that you must know how to incorporate into your resume and cover letter. These elements include adjectives, a few positive and negative statements, and verb tenses such as past, present, and future.The examples of strong words that you will find in resumes and cover letters are 'attractive', 'accomplished', 'magnificent', 'decisive', 'commended', 'laid to rest', 'hard-working', 'courageous', 'inspiring', 'friendly', 'polished', 'tight', 'professional', 'powerful', 'outstanding', 'quick', 'mature', 'eternal', 'proficient', 'personal', 'advanced', 'laid-back', 'demanding', 'mystical', 'big brother', 'genuine', ' truly', 'tense', 'proficient', 'understood', 'absolutely', 'believable', 'desireable', 'comfortable', 'respectful', 'stellar', 'truly versatile', 'expert', 'optimistic', 'strong'. This is just a small sampling of what is on the list, but there are many more.Resume writing is not an easy task. This is why we all need to take breaks from our daily tasks and stop focusing on a single subject. Spend a few minutes today writing your resume.

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Can Hillary Clintons Profit-Sharing Plan Help Fix Inequality

Can Hillary Clinton's Profit-Sharing Plan Help Fix Inequality Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Thursday outlined a plan to encourage companies to share more of their earnings with workers. It’s a tax credit companies could get for two years if they set up a profit-sharing plan tilted toward the lower- and middle-income employees on the payroll. (The tax credit would phase out for higher-paid workers.) In an example used by the campaign, if an employee was paid $5,000 in a profit-sharing bonus, the company would get a tax break of up to $750. At least at first, the plan has generally been interpreted as part of Clinton’s tilt toward the progressive side of the economic debate. “Veering left…” is how the insider political paper The Hill put it. Clinton herself has fit profit sharing into her broader message about fixing economic inequality. Here’s a graphic from the campaign website that illustrates the story Clinton is telling about what’s driving inequality. Companies are doing great and getting more productive, but they haven’t haven’t been sharing those gains with workers: SOURCE: hillaryclinton.com, based on data from the Economic Policy Institute But even though profit sharing has the word “sharing” in it, it’s actually a pretty business-friendly approach. (The idea that the credit phases out for higher earners is the main way you can tell the proposal comes from a Democrat.) Lots of companies like the idea of paying their people more only when the business is doing well; the flip side is they can pay less in fallow years. In the jargon of human resources, other names for profit sharing are the much less warm and fuzzy sounding “pay-at-risk” and “variable pay.” Walmart, a company that’s famously tough about holding down its labor costs, used to be well-known for profit sharing. At qz.com, writer Alison Shrager worries that more profit-sharing would just shift more pay out of steady wages and into up-and-down bonuses, adding another source of instability to the finacial lives of low-and middle-income workers. The Clinton campaign told Vox.com that companies would only be able to get the credit for profit sharing above regular wagesâ€"presumably meaning they couldn’t cut salaries and then get a credit for adding a profit-sharing plan. But over time, as companies gave out regular raises and made new hires, or as new firms started up, the mix of pay might still shift toward variable bonuses. Profit sharing eligible for the credit would be capped at 10% of salary. If Clinton’s proposal became law, it would really be just one more of several tax policies that shape how companies structure their pay. If you get health insurance at work or a 401(k) match, that’s because the tax code makes it appealing for companies to pay you that way. You pay less tax on $1 of health insurance or $1 of a 401(k) match than you do on $1 of straight cash pay, so companies like to offer those benefits; similarly, it would be slightly cheaper for a company to give you $1 of profit sharing than to give you $1 of a raise. As an economist will tell you, the health insurance you get at work isn’t a free gift on top of your pay. It’s part of your overall compensation. If companies didn’t offer health coverage, they’d have to pay us more. (Of course, then we’d still have use that money to buy insurance.) So perhaps Clinton’s plan would largely move money from one line in your pay stub to another. But it might be better than a zero-sum game. For one thing, it’s effectively a tax cut on pay, which the Clinton campaign says is worth $10 billion to $20 billion over ten yearsâ€"not huge as these things go. Companies would get the credit directly, but to the extent that it encouraged companies to make more money available for profit-based bonuses, the tax break could flow through to workers. (Though the campaign says one purpose of the temporary credit is simply to offset the administrative costs of starting up a profit-sharing program.) And there’s at least some evidence that companies with profit sharing actually do pay more overall. An influential think-tank policy paper on “inclusive prosperity,” which the Clinton campaign is reported to be be drawing from, points to a study of the effects of profit sharing by the economists Joseph Blasi, Richard Freeman, and Douglas Kruse. Based on surveys of workers, it found that pay was generally as high or higher among companies that gave workers some kind of stake in company performance. That includes not just profit-sharing bonuses but employee stock options and other programs. Why? Partly it may be because you have to give people a shot at higher total pay to compensate for the risk that they might not do as well in some years. Or, the economists write, it could be that people are getting paid more because profit sharing spurs them to be more productive. That looks like a win-win, but its not exactly money for nothing. Maybe profit sharing works because it improve morale, reduces employee turnover and gives people an incentive to worker smarter and more creatively. Or perhaps anxiety over losing a bonus scares people into working harder and faster. But the wage stagnation of the past several decades isn’t mainly a productivity problemâ€"just look at the Clinton campaign’s own graphic above. People with jobs these days are already working smart and working hard. Profit-sharing tax credits might nudge some companies to share more of the gains from that productivity with people outside the C-suites. But the story of the last several years is that it’s taken employment a long time to climb back from the hit it took in 2008. One thing that really helps people get more payâ€"whether it’s in cash, bonuses, stock option, pensions, or insuranceâ€"is full employment and a hot labor market, where companies have to do everything they can to get the workers they need. That’s something Washington has had a hard time delivering.

Friday, April 10, 2020

Business Theres an App for That - Work It Daily

Business Theres an App for That - Work It Daily In a day and age when technology is at the forefront of every business-minded individual, being comfortable with the understanding and use of new technology is a must. A smartphone is a piece of technology that has drastically changed the way the business world functions today. This small device may just “seal the deal” to landing your next job and keeping it. Whether it be an iPhone or a Blackberry, smartphones are literally everywhere. They are now more portable and affordable than ever before. With capabilities such as constantly updated e-mails, business-oriented apps, and task reminders, a smartphone can make the business world fall into the palm of your hand with the click of a button. Here are some essential apps for every business-oriented individual: LinkedIn One great app every business person should have on their smartphone is the LinkedIn app. This is a free app that just may change your job status from “searching” to “hired.” For those of you who may not be familiar with LinkedIn, it's simply a social networking site designed for job seekers and employers to make lasting connections. LinkedIn provides a profile showcasing an individual’s business related accomplishments and goals. Employers can find out a lot about a job candidate from this profile and decide if the individual would be a good fit for the company. Having LinkedIn at your fingertips can also help in the job search because if an employer tries to contact a candidate for an interview or meeting, that individual will immediately know of this and can reply to the employer instantly. Staying in contact with potential employers can drastically improve your chances at landing the “perfect” job. Newspapers Keeping up to date on current country and world affairs is also a must in the business world. Therefore, investing in a newspaper app may be beneficial to your app collection. Prior to smartphone news apps, the only way to get news was search it on the Internet or pickup a hard copy of the newspaper. Now news is available 24/7 on your phone! Whether your news of choice comes from The New York Times or The Wall Street journal, there’s an app for that. Knowing what is going on worldwide will give you insight in to what will be happening next not only in your job market, but also in your world. The Square If you are a small business owner or are looking to start a business in the future, having the Square for your smartphone will greatly alter the way you view and handle business. With this app, credit card payments can be taken anywhere your phone goes. Credit cards will be processed and accepted or denied on the spot and eliminate the need for small merchants to have storefronts. There are apps that imitate the Square, but this is by far the best known and accepted by businesses nationwide. Although everyone may not be ready to make the transition into owning a smartphone it is something that should be considered. It's a great way to connect with employers and constantly be tuned in to the job search. Being informed and current with technology can make the job search much more fun and rewarding! Image Credit: Shutterstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!