Are Skills and Experience More Valuable Than a Degree

Are Skills and Experience More Valuable Than a Degree Today, employers are looking for a variety of talents, skills and personality traits in future candidates. This means that people who havent attended university, have just as much of a chance of getting employed due to the potential skills and experience that they have gained in the time that others have spent studying for a degree. So, what is more valued a degree or experience and skill? Are both equally  desirable or does one stand out more than the other? This infographic by Knod gives some more insight into the benefits and disadvantages of both perspectives: Graduates: 1,800 hours spent in college classes for a bachelors degree. New graduates face intense competition and take longer to secure a job. 8.5% unemployment rate of bachelor degree students. 16.8% of graduates are underemployed. Unemployment and underemployment rates have doubled since 2007! Only 42% of graduates will find a job in less than 6 months. Lack of skills: 75% of employers think schools do not prepare students for the global economy. 8 out of 10 adults say skills and knowledge are important to hiring managers. More than 80% of employers want candidates to have work experience. Skills and experience: Experience heavy candidates are more favoured. 66% of employees are hired on experience over academics. Important attributes: Internships, experience during college, college major and volunteer experience. Skills are necessary: Communication. Critical thinking. Problem solving. Social skills. Read more here, do you have enough skills and experience? Image Credit: Shutterstock

Resume Writing Service For Freelance Writers

Resume Writing Service For Freelance WritersIf you are looking for a way to make some extra money in the future, then a resume writing service may be the way to go. There are many companies that offer this type of service. They do not need you to have any formal education in order to write your resume. All you will need is a computer and internet access.This is very different from the other types of online jobs like writing and translating resumes. If you are not good at English, you can always hire a freelance writer to work with you. It would be beneficial for both parties if you would hire a freelance writer for this job instead of having to outsource it.The reason you should hire a freelance writer is that you will get a far better rate than you would if you hired a company to do the same thing. You will be able to get more writing done in a shorter amount of time.All freelance writers charge more because they have to use their own equipment and supplies for working on your resum e. In return, you will be getting a much better resume.A major problem when outsourcing this kind of service is that there is no one to hold accountable for the work that is done. This is why it is more effective to work with a freelance writer to write your resume. The writer can send out your resume to all of the companies that you are interested in doing business with.The reason this type of service is becoming more popular is because it has become very competitive with the increasing use of the internet and search engine optimization. This is also why it is becoming a huge market because there are so many people who are in need of a resume writer.The biggest benefit to hiring a freelance writer to write your resumeis that you will be able to sit back and relax for most of the process. You will not have to do any typing and you won't have to deal with deadlines. You will have more time to focus on other things like your career.One of the best ways to find a company that will prov ide you with a resume is to do an online search for 'resume writing service'resume writing service.' Be sure to check out the different services available so that you can find the one that fits your needs the best.

When to Quit Your Job to Start a Business

When to Quit Your Job to Start a Business We live in an interesting time in the United States. More than 50 million Americans work as freelancers and the average person changes jobs ten to fifteen times during a career. Knowing when to quit your job to start a business, like so many others already, is important. Quitting your job to start a business is not easy and there are many things to consider.When You Are Financially StableLet’s be frank. Starting a business with no finances makes succeeding much harder. The time to quit your job and start your own company is NOT when you have no means of support.A means of support can be anything from a spouse, family member, or an investor. They help you foot the financial (and mental) bill for your new business unless you have the money to start the business on your own.True, quitting your job to start a business with little or no money isa possibility. Anyone can technically start a company, but the ability to support your business until it profits is another story. The chances o f your business succeeding depend largely on how you prepare ahead of time.When You Have a Plan for the Day-To-DayKnowing when to quit your job to start a business means knowing what you will be doing on day one at your own company. It is nearly impossible to go into business without a plan.Yes, those plans may change over and over again as you work to optimize your business model. Before quitting your job to start a business, you have to know what your work regimen will be.Starting your own company means having a new found freedom to do as one wishes. This freedom can often lead people to become lazy thinkers or fall too much in love with all the new free time. Make sure you at least have a schedule for what you will be working on during that first day and the weeks to follow.When You Have Done the ResearchMost companies exist by offering a solution to a problem that people are willing to pay for. Using Find My Profession as an example, we knew from the start that applying for jobs online is a hassle no one seems to have time for (problem), so we offered a solution.Research showed no other companies existed like this and networking efforts proved it was a service that was in high demand. The research showed Find My Profession made sense to job seekers.Now, if you do not do the research you will never truly know when to quit your job and start your own business. You will be doing something risky: Taking a guess that it is time to quit your job.When You Are Fed up With Working for Someone ElseThis is perhaps the most powerful way to know when it is time to quit your job to start a business. The reality is today’s business world offers tools to help people be more independent in their careers.Ultimately, if you know you can do it yourself and the thought of others telling you what to do really bothers you, it may be time to quit your job and start a business. If for some reason your efforts fail, and they often will, you will either go back to work and save mo ney or keep starting new businesses. Either way, you will feel liberated knowing you are calling your own shots in your own company.Knowing when to quit your job to start a business is also about discovering yourself. You discover that you were meant to lead or do things your own way. And you also discover the time to quit your job was a very long time ago!

Barack Obama, the female vote, and why this matters at work

Barack Obama, the female vote, and why this matters at work Did you see the rally for Obama in Los Angeles last Sunday? It rocked my world: Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, and California First Lady Maria Shriver talking to a packed stadium at UCLA. (Watch the video here.) For one thing, Michelle Obama is a great speaker in her own right and she is teaching us how to talk about race and women in new ways that only a non-candidate could do. But also, Maria Shriver made an unscheduled appearance to endorse Barack Obama even though her husband, Governor Schwarzenegger, had just endorsed John McCain. Its a great picture of how much power women havewomen who are so confident in their power that they know they can throw it behind a man to get what they want out of the world. Some of my harshest critics say that Im bad for feminism. They say I give bad advice to women because I dont see work as a place for women to fight against men to get equality. Indeed, I generally see work as a place where women have equal footing with men. And personally, I see work as a place where men have mentored me the whole way. I would be nowhere without all the men who have helped me. Sure, I know Im still at a disadvantage because Im a woman in the workplace. I was reminded of it just the other day when my business partner Ryan and I met with a potential investor. The guy passed on girl-related small-talk and spent twenty minutes with Ryan talking football. And the same is true for black people in this country. Obamas success doesnt mean that things are suddenly great for black people everywhere. But Obamas success suggests that we can stop requiring everyone to divide everything by black and white. And that makes me also think we can stop dividing things by men and women. I dont need to vote for Hilary Clinton to show that I support women. I support women by looking ahead to the next generation. My generationwhich is Obamas generationdoes not need to fight the womens fight anymore. Other people did it for us. So thank you, feminists, but were moving on. And to see all those women in Californiathose women who got their power on their own, using it to support a manthat sends chills up my spine, because I relate to that. I want to stand with the men and be on their team, and the only way to do that is to earn power myself and share it, with whoever deserves it, man or woman. Watch for this in politics, and do it yourself at work. You can get stronger at work by breaking free of the divide that some people assume is there. We dont owe it to the last generation to keep fighting their fights. We owe it to the last generation to thank them, and then move on. We have our own, more relevant fights today. Like how to work to live instead of live to work, how to stop being a slave to money, and how to make time for our families. These are issues for men as much as women. We are in those fights together. And thats what I saw happening in Los Angeles on Sunday. I saw a centerpiece of the new fight: For change. Whoo hooo!

Resume Spacing: How To Properly Format Your Resume For A Better Prospective For Employment

Resume Spacing: How To Properly Format Your Resume For A Better Prospective For EmploymentResume Spacing is one of the most important things that you should consider in building a successful resume. It can turn a great resume into a terrible one, and if done incorrectly it can completely ruin your chances of getting the job you want. Before you start writing your resume, make sure you know what spacing works best for you.The first thing you need to do is learn about what you should include on your resume. This will help you find the proper spacing to use on each section. First, you need to identify the main objective of your resume. These are the biggest things that your employer will be looking for on your resume. Make sure you get your employer's primary objective clearly written on your resume.Accomplishments are another part of your resume that will help your employer to determine whether or not you have what it takes to do the job. While the accomplishments don't really have any thing to do with your actual position, it is still a good idea to write them down so that you don't forget them. You can also write down the specific accomplishments that you have achieved during the course of your career to give your employer a clearer picture of what kind of job you are qualified for.Writing this section down is a good idea because it will let you avoid going back and forth when reading your resume. A good way to remember what the accomplishments are is to write them down by category: major accomplishments, accomplishments within your current position, job responsibilities, and tasks completed. Again, you should make sure that you include your job responsibilities on your resume as well so that you can highlight them.Job duties are different than job duties. In some cases, these are the same thing but in other cases they may not be. If you are being asked to list job duties, you should be able to write down all of your job duties in order. When writing out job dut ies, it is helpful to write down the first task you performed in the previous job, and then move on to the next.Your qualifications are key points that will help your employer to decide whether or not you are a good fit for the job. You want to focus on the details of your job experiences in this section because these are the things that your employer will be looking for when making their decision. Employers will want to see how well you understand the job you are applying for, and you should list this on your resume as well.You should also make sure that you cover some of the key points that you may not have discussed in your previous jobs. These will be very useful in determining whether or not you are the right person for the job. The important part about this section is the list of strengths and weaknesses that you have in the job that you are applying for. Be sure that you list the strengths and weaknesses you had in your previous jobs as well.After you are done writing your re sume, you can begin using resume spacing to make sure that the parts that you wrote are placed in the proper places. Also, when writing the keywords section, you want to make sure that you list your skills or experience on the first two lines and then your job title.

Tim Campbell, first winner of The Apprentice, joins the #FightForFeedback

Tim Campbell, first winner of The Apprentice, joins the #FightForFeedback Since its launch back in June, the Fight For Feedback campaign has become a major talking point and made national news. Following the submission of our  White Paper to Government, entrepreneur and The Apprentice winner Tim Campbell appeared on Sky News to discuss the importance of quality interview feedback. We caught up with him to find out about his own interview experiences and the importance of education when it comes to the Fight For Feedback. Guys, were shook. ??This is Tim Campbell, the first winner of The Apprentice talking about our #fightforfeedback campaign on @skynews! Thank you @tc_mbe for shedding light on such an important issue! What do we all think of his take? ?? A post shared by Debut (@debutcareers) on Jul 28, 2017 at 4:23am PDT During your interview at Sky News, you said that this is not an opportunity for government to intervene but rather a call to action for employers. Why do you think this? What we need right now is not more government intervention, but instead we need better careers education for our young people, and better education for employers on the benefits of providing candidates with quality feedback. We just need a stronger dialogue between recruiters and candidates to help our young people reach their full potential. It really is in the best interests of businesses to provide candidates with feedback after an interview, we just need to emphasise the benefits more. With candidate experience being so important to employers, the Fight For Feedback campaign is great as it lays out a roadmap that companies can easily follow. What do you think employers should be doing to introduce better quality feedback to their employees and how can they implement it effectively? I don’t think you can implement a hard and fast rule for all businesses, as every organisation works in a different way. It’s just all about communication and fairness. As long as companies are respectfully providing their candidates with the adequate feedback that will help them go on and secure another role, that’s all that matters. Of course, it’s also important that companies are educated on what constitutes quality feedback, which is why the Fight For Feedback campaign is so important. These new guiding principles are a really comprehensive overview of what good feedback should look like. Constructive and positive, directly from the interviewer, and the length of time employers are expected to invest in it. Talking about feedback can be quite vague and abstract, but the white paper you created is really specific in its recommendations, which is great. Which one of the recommendations brought forward in the white paper do you think is the most important to act on? I think making the feedback positive and constructive is really important. That doesn’t mean it can’t be tough. Lord Sugar is really tough on the contestants in The Apprentice. But it provides direction and guidance that can be acted upon. Sometimes being too nice and polite is the worst thing you can do if you don’t let the candidate know where they went wrong, how are they going to improve? It’s a difficult balance to strike but I think the Fight For Feedback campaign is making progress towards educating employers on how to do this, which is positive. How do you provide feedback to the candidates that you interview? It’s important to take the time out to prepare feedback for individuals â€" by going into the interview with this intention, you tend to take effective notes, in order to prepare for the feedback stage. Sadly, the reality is that having enough time to feedback direct to the interviewee is often a luxury for time-poor managers, and it is a task that is delegated to a member of the HR team. When I can take the time to feedback myself, I always do, as I agree with the Fight for Feedback’s guiding principles regarding the power of verbal feedback â€" it’s great because it allows the candidate to ask questions and to share feedback too. One-way feedback, such as via email, is nowhere near as effective in terms of development for both parties. From a business perspective, why is candidate feedback a smart move for companies? Everyone a business engages with, at every level, should be considered as an important stakeholder from the CEO to the cleaner, everyone should come away feeling respected. Although a candidate might not be successful at an entry level interview, they might use that interview feedback to go away and get another job, and come back a few years later for a more senior role. It’s such a small thing to do but it can have a huge impact. Employers are also starting to see how important it is to maintain a good reputation among students and graduates, so they’re able to attract the best talent. Quality feedback leaves a good impression amongst students, who will go on to believe it is a good place to work. For employers, it’s a win-win. In your Sky News interview you also mentioned the importance of better education in careers and development for young people. When should this take place? It’s the role of schools and colleges to educate young people about the career paths available to them. Education in school is often so focused on getting students into university, rather than giving them the skills they need to make it on the job market or set up their own business, and I think that needs to change. Feedback is part of the problem, but young people should be learning about this before they leave education if they’re to get the best start. Young people need to learn how to sell their skillset to an employer, and how to prepare for interviews effectively. A lot of people have the knowledge and experience, but just don’t know how to demonstrate that well in a face-to-face interview. I know a lot of universities have careers centres, but many students don’t go on to university and don’t have access to those resources. For those people, education about starting careers is most important if they’re to go out there and be a success. Have you had any particularly bad interview experiences? We all saw you getting grilled in the interview round of The Apprentice, how did you find that? Although the interview was quite a nerve-wracking experience, I actually found it one of the easiest tasks out of all those on the show! During an interview you just have to rely on yourself and your experiences, as opposed to a wider team of people, so I felt a lot more in control of the situation. The interviewers are obviously tough and try to catch you out as much as possible, it’s part of the theatre of the show, but I think I managed to keep my cool. I’d coached people professionally how to perform during interviews in the past, so I had experience in how to handle myself and how to focus on my skills and my propensity to learn quickly. In that interview, the main battle you faced was a lack of commercial experience. What advice would you give to a candidate interviewing for a job with little previous experience? I think it’s important to be open and acknowledge the fact that you don’t have the level of experience that might be expected. On The Apprentice, I had far less commercial experience than some of those I was up against, but I held my hands up, admitted it and said I was prepared to learn. You have to let the employer see your personality and work ethic, because if you have the right attitude you can succeed at whatever you set your mind to, regardless of a lack of experience. Focus on the things you have done, because something which might appear a small achievement to someone else might have been a huge step for you, so emphasise your successes and the skills you used to achieve them. Just don’t give up, everyone has to start somewhere! The most important thing to note is that if you have made it to the interview, they see something in you. The interview is your chance to show them more of that and give them confidence that you can bring more to the table than may be evident on your CV or application form. You came from quite a tough background, and had to work hard to get to the position you’re in now. How important was feedback and guidance in your journey? On The Apprentice we were all treated the same regardless of background, but of course the feedback and advice I received on the show and from Lord Sugar in the future were crucial in helping me get where I am now. This is why I set up the Bright Ideas Trust; I wanted to give young people from disadvantaged backgrounds the support network they need to achieve their goals so they have a solid foundation to succeed regardless of where they started from. Interview feedback is the same kind of thing. I think especially for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, that kind of guidance is essential in personal development as they may not be surrounded by peers or parents who can help them. The Fight For Feedback campaign will have an impact on the lives of many young people out there, and I’m excited to see that happen. You can follow the progress of the Fight For Feedback campaign here, and dont forget to sign our petition if you havent already. Lets show the government why the Fight For Feedback is so important, and make the recruitment industry a fairer process for all. Connect with Debut on  Facebook,  Twitter,  and  LinkedIn  for more careers insights. Image via PA.

Revision Methods for GCSE - How 2 Become

Revision Methods for GCSE - How 2 Become When studying for your GCSEs, it’s vital that you establish good habits and methods that will help you focus, and ensure that you’re working smart, as well as working hard. In my last post, we covered the three main types of learning: visual, aural and kinaesthetic. We also looked at some revision tactics that you can use if you fall under each style. In this post, we’re going to have a look at some more of the best revision methods for GCSE.Visual LearningCreating TablesTables are a great way of organising information into different categories. For example, you might need to consider the pros and cons of nuclear power. You can sort your notes by creating a table like so:If you have to, you can make more columns to add other categories. Since the space to write in is usually quite small, you need to be able to summarise ideas briefly in your own words. If you’re able to do this, it shows that you understand what the ideas are.Aural LearningSelf-recordingSelf-recording is anot her one of the best revision methods for GCSE. For this technique, all you need is your voice, some reading material and a device which you can record yourself with. In the past, you would have had to use a specific device called a dictation machine to record yourself. Nowadays, almost any modern smartphone or tablet has voice recording capabilities. So long as it has a microphone, it should be able to record your voice as well. If these options aren’t available, dictation machines aren’t too expensive, and they might be worth the investment.Note: Many laptops can record your voice too. If it has a camera, it’s probably capable of recording your voice with its microphone!If you’ve chosen to use the “reading aloud” method of revision, you might as well record yourself at the same time. The self-recording technique is quite simple; all you need to do is record yourself reading your notes.The great thing about this method is that both recording and listening help you to rem ember information. While you’re reading your notes out loud into the microphone, you’re going to be committing them to memory, just like you would when reading out loud. Once you’re done reading all of them, you can listen to them through speakers or headphones whenever you’re studying.Here are some tips to make your recordings even easier to study from:• Make sure you’re not speaking too close to the microphone, or too far away from it. Do a couple of test runs to make sure your microphone is working properly.• Speak slowly and clearly, so that you can listen back easily.• Place emphasis on the more important details in your notes. Try changing your tone of voice for certain key phrases or facts, so that they stick out more.• When you’re done recording, send the files to your phone or smart device so that they’re always handy.Whenever you have a free 10 minutes or so, you can listen to your notes.Kinaesthetic LearningLearning GamesFor this technique, you’re probably going to need access to either the internet or dedicated workbooks. You’ll want to find games or other interactive tools which involve doing things rather than just reading them. For example, one game might require you to match up key words to their meanings, or key dates to the events which occurred on them. You can actually do this one yourself, in the same way that you made flashcards. Cut up a large piece of paper in separate pieces, and then on half of them write a key word. Then write something related to each key word on all of the other pieces. Shuffle up all of the cards, then try to match them up.You should also check online for other learning games. As always, double check that the content of the games matches what you’re learning in class, so you don’t confuse yourself.ConclusionBy now, you have access to some of the best revision methods for GCSE. GCSEs can be tough, but with the right frame of mind and the right tools at your disposal, you can overcome t hem and achieve something incredible.Looking for more tips and the best revision methods for GCSE? Check out our book, Pass Your GCSEs With Level 9s. This entry was posted in Education, Revision. Bookmark the permalink. Jacob Senior Key Stage 2 History Curriculum | National Primary CurriculumSpeed, Distance and Time FAQ â€" How to Work out Speed Distance Time

Happy Merry! - When I Grow Up

Happy Merry! - When I Grow Up Happy Merry Folded Card by Everything Little Miss Its a little late to wish you all a Happy Hanukkah (didnt it come soooo early this year?! I was absolutely not ready!), but as part of a mixed family (Lukes half Jew, half WASP his joke is that hes just full of guilt but never discusses it! Ha!) I thought that Aprils cards above said it perfectly! A Happy Merry to you and yours, whatever you celebrate. If nothing else, enjoy time with loved ones, even if that just includes yourself. I have Lukes whole family hanging in our place big sleepover alert! and I aint goin back to work til 2011. But Ill be back next week for some year-end wrap-up amazeballsness. How can I resist? Have a very Happy Merry!