5 Ways to Get More From Your Job

5 Ways to Get More From Your Job There are a lot Average Joes out there who do  the bare minimum to get by. Thats fine, if youre prepared to kiss goodbye the prospect of a  promotion, salary increase, big bonus or glowing  midyear review. We live in  a  digital age where new technologies are constantly redefining how we work, and the jobs market is extremely competitive. Those who simply coast along and fail to adapt are setting themselves up to be crushed in the stampede of  competition.  Not only are you vying against other workers, but now youre having to answer to machines that can  process information quicker than youd care to compete with. Stagnating  is the first step to  going backwards. The key is to be proactive with your own  professional development and move forward. Here are 5 tips on how you can get ahead: 1. Become a mentor A lot of people would like to be managers, but dont have the platform to prove themselves.  If you are looking for a way to practice leadership and showcase your people skills, why not offer to mentor a less experienced colleague?  If you have interns or a grad scheme at your company, why not put your hand up to help them out once in a while?  This will help you cut your teeth as a manager and prove your commitment to bettering yourself. 2.  Complete an online course A free online course, or MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses), will help to fill in gaps in your knowledge and up skill in areas of great importance. Learning the content wont cost you anything, but youll be able to hone in on weak spots in your skill set.  A lot of the courses are written and supported by real universities and educational organisations, so you know your time is being well spent. Not only will you benefit from the extra knowledge, but the proactive approach to your own professional development will be something to be admired. 3.  Be active on social media These days, employers have to market their organisations as great places to work, in the same way  employees  have to market themselves online. The emergence of social media as an extensive platform for networking and sharing information means companies have to have a presence. Why not help with yours, creating blog content and social updates? Being tech-savvy and understanding the current social online landscape  will be extremely valuable to your career. As the world moves further and further down the track of digitalisation, equip yourself with the know-how to keep up. Youll also win brownie points from your marketing department for lightening their load. 4.  Support a charity Supporting a charity is a win-win situation for everyone.  As well as helping out people who really need it,  donating time or money for people less fortunate than you  is also likely to give you a new  perspective on your priorities. It might also present you with the push you need to knuckle down and make your dreams come true. Most larger organisations will already support a charity, so asking  HR how to get involved in fundraising initiatives is the best step.  If your company doesnt have any existing relationships,  why not register with  Everydayhero?  This site allows you to set up a fundraising page and select which charity you would like to support.  The softer skills  you learn from being selfless will go a long way to rounding out your profile in the eyes of employers, too. 5.  Build your  internal network Join an internal committee, or put your hand up to help out with upcoming company events. At a minimum, try to get involved  Make yourself known across your business, make introductions and seek opportunities to learn form the people around you who are more experienced. If you really want to be noticed, why not ask about your companys internal or international mobility options? Completing a secondment in a different area, offering to visit other offices or putting your hand up for an internal transfer will not only show your commitment, but also offer  you the opportunity to learn  new skills and get a holistic view of your companys operations. Image: Shutterstock

Using Short Videos To Drive Traffic To Your Business

Using Short Videos To Drive Traffic To Your Business For any business to survive in this fast-paced world, it needs smart marketing techniques. With more businesses going online and conducting their affairs on the internet these days, it should be a wise idea to shift your base on the web too. When your potential customers are online, you should get there too. But, the biggest question businesses face today is how to capture their attention. One of the best ways is to go for visually appealing approach with animation videos and creatives. It is perhaps a great way to send your message across your potential customers. Animation Videos Animation videos are not just good communication tools, but they are more clear and precise with their message. Scientifically, it has been noted that people tend to retain information better when they view an audio-visual than reading texts. If you’ve just branched out to online marketing, create a good space for video productions. You can do it in-house by hiring a fantastic creative mind, or an agency. There are several agencies and companies working on video creation and animation that you can look up on the net. Spiel Creative, an animation and short video churning agency based out of London, says that the demand for how-to videos, 3D animations, explainer videos, and introductory videos in startups and internet based businesses have increased manifold. Several of them have benefitted heavily with its application over social media channels and gained large audience volume in a short span of time. The graphic elements created by such professionals has the powers to explain even the complex of themes and situations. Whether it is a pie-chart or a scientific theory, or even steps of crucial management techniques, the animation videos will help your audience understand it better. While it is hard to sit and explain the complex techniques, animation videos transforms the complexity into easy-to-grasp matter effortlessly. It’s also about the art of storytelling. Every one of us would love to watch anything that’s been told in a form of a story, and that’s what animation videos are capable of doing. Online marketers always try to build a story around their products and services, so that it can connect better with their audience. Be it an image or advertising text, a story is essential. Keeping that in view, animation videos does a superb job in imparting the story across its audience. As a business you’ve to be sure whether you want to make it easy to understand or add puns. But, with the level of creativity shown by animation video professional, attracting the masses has become easy. For any business applying animation video in its marketing initiative, the main motive should be turn their organic traffic into actual sales. Animated videos not just speak directly with the audience but build an emotional bond with them. For this animation companies keep a focus on creating characters that sets in your mind. Regularly involving them into the videos will help businesses make a brand and easy identification of their products and services. Animation videos has certainly gained a huge popularity recently. It is certainly amongst the most innovative marketing techniques businesses can use to drive more traffic to their websites and increase their conversion rates. These animations can be turned into GIFs and used in e-mail campaigns, and as video clips on social media platforms to keep a uniformity of creativity.

Actions I Took to Grow My Blog Traffic By 55% In One Month (CCG Podcast #51) - Classy Career Girl

Actions I Took to Grow My Blog Traffic By 55% In One Month (CCG Podcast #51) Welcome to our July 2016 ACTION report. If you are new here, make sure you read my Junes report, Podcast #44 as well. Click play below or  right click here and save link as  to download or subscribe on iTunes  here on this link: If you are enjoying our podcast, please leave us a review on iTunes! It would mean the world. Thank you! Why am I doing this? There are a lot of bloggers out there sharing their income reports. I have decided to start a different type of monthly post, an action report. Everywhere we look online these days we hear about someone’s six figure launch and how someone else made a million dollars on a course, etc. Am I the only one  ready for people to stop flaunting their incomes? I have been growing an internationally recognized online career platform for 6 years. Telling you what I earn after 6 years of growing my business in detail isn’t going to help you as you start a business. Why? Because the only way my business has grown each year is through ACTION and self-reflection. That’s why I want to help you take the action you need to take to create the dream business for you.Your ideal business is not what I have created here. My business is created just for me. I have my own purpose, strengths, passions and mission. But, I can tell you exactly what actions I am taking to grow my business and HELP people. I can tell you what actions are working and what actions are not working. I can tell you about the struggles I am facing and what I am 100% enjoying in my business. Thats why I love these monthly posts because I get to reflect and plan ahead. I also take notes all the way through the month to make sure I capture everything. Wellits been another busy month here at CCG! So, lets dive in, shall we? What worked well in July: Posting WAY more than you think on Instagram. I posted 4-5 posts on Instagram and 1 post every night before I went to bed. Doing this and networking (liking and making REAL GENUINE comments on other peoples pictures) helped me add 1,000 followers in July. I also held an Instagram contest and gave away some books I had in my closet. This led to over  400 entries into the contest and a ton of new followers and friends! I had people like, follow and tag their friends which were the requirements to join. Not a big fan of the loop giveaways since I dont enter them myself.  Wordswag, Picmonkey.com and Adobe Spark are what I use to post. Pinterest group boards are the number 1 way I get traffic to my site and increase my followers by over 100 people per day now. You can join our group board here. Just let me know your email address and we will add you. Personally: We got an anniversary getaway trip! ?? When you work with your husband, this is not easy! We hardly touched our computers! We also spent some time at the pool with our daughter which was a lot of fun too and I feel like I accomplished my goal last month to have more balance and downtime. Found a new lawyer to help us put some future big plans together! This was a big hurdle as our last lawyer disappeared out of thin  air.. Finally found a great web developer who cleared our hack from last month once and for all! YAY! John and I had focused entire days on strategy with no administrative items. We focused way more on the big picture items of our business and really moved forward big in July. Going back to improve emails and sales pages that what we rushed to get up in April. I am a big fan of quality and making sure that all of my content is as good as it can be. I like taking fast action and then reviewing it later to make sure it is quality. Last month I fired my editorial assistant. This gave me a lot more work to do but my page views skyrocketed this month because I was more involved in the blog content and we got rid of our hack.  Traffic increased percentages. 206K page views in June to 320K: increased by 55%!!!  Firing someone worked out for the better so always look for the silver lining! The way that our traffic grew so much in one month was simply because I put out more content. I spent one day (for me every Tuesday) batching a weeks worth of blog posts and one day batching a weeks worth of social media (for me every Wednesday).  If you want more page views on your website, you have to put out more content. Increase the number of times you post or increase the number of posts you do on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. Its really that simple. Oh and you have to make sure its GREAT content and very valuable. Make sure it has a great title too. We found an amazing location for our meetup event here in San Diego.  I reached out and asked a friend of mine who opened a store in South Park called Gold Leaf and she said we could host our meetup at her store on September 16th!!  Stay tuned for more details soon! I am excited to partner with Sarah Argenal at the Working Parent Resource at this event and of course the owners of the store, another husband and wife duo power couple, Sonya and Kevin Kemp. FINALLY figured out that I was procrastinating my work until Sunday and it was stressing me out because I wanted the day to be a day of rest but really it was a day of stress.  I changed my schedule towards the end of the month and moved around certain things I did and days I sent emails.  I also made Friday my catch up and planning day, not Sunday. So this past Sunday was way more relaxing. I still worked a bit. I am not perfect still working towards that day of rest, thats for sure. We hired a new Community Manager! I am so excited about this! This is AMAZING and a long time coming. As our membership sites grow (now over 200+ members) I realized I needed some help answering everyones questions and making it the community that I really want it to be. So, I hired our social media intern, Aida, to be our Community Manager for CRP and LYCF.  Woohoo and welcome Aida! Our first official members meetup was held this past weekend here in San Diego.  I cannot even tell you how much it motivated me to make it my new mission to meet every single one of the over 200+ members in my communities in the near future. I know we have a virtual and international community but I encourage you all to get out and connect with one another. Start a mastermind or hold a meetup at a coffee shop on a Saturday at 10am. This all started because Meredith was in town from Germany and posted it here in our private Facebook group one day.    It was so great to meet these ladies. You are all doing amazing things in the world and really making a difference. I look forward to watching your businesses and careers take off and seeing you impact thousands of people along the way. What did NOT work well in July: Sponsored posts. We were getting urgent posts and then we would spend a lot of time improving the article and adding images and publish them and they said, oops! That has already been posted elsewhere. So I practiced my own advice and started saying no. Even though they were paying us and that was all nice, sometimes you have to say no to money to make room for other opportunities. My husband getting sick when you run a business together. We made it work but it definitely made us see that we need more help managing the community and running the business, hence our new community manager! People are commenting on my Instagram feed with hearts and nice pic! I hate it. I cant stand it. Its so unauthentic and I will not follow you or respond to you if you do this. I actually called out a girl who posted a comment within 2-3 seconds of me posting. I said, hmmautomated? She hasnt been back. So I say a big fat no to automatic posting or bad commenting on Instagram. Actually use what I teach here about networking. Think of Instagram as a network. Meet people. Be genuine and really read their comments when you comment! Thank you to all of you who comment on my posts with genuine long comments. I so appreciate you! Stressed Sunday evenings prepping for the work week which is why I changed this planning time to Fridays. Worked a lot of late nights. I would much rather shut down by 8pm.. Our website hack came back. This crap happens. Delete old sites and plugins. Find a good web developer. Like really, really good. I turned down a big opportunity to get my brand in front of a lot of people because it didnt feel right.  Sometimes you have to go with your gut and you cant say yes to everything. I majorly need interns. Please see this INTERNS WANTED post and apply! We have way more guest posts to publish but not enough time to get them up. We need an intern or support person to help us with getting our guest articles up faster. Sorry for the delay if you have submitted one. Rethinking our advertising plan.  Every month I encourage you to see what funding you are spending on advertising and how much you made. We usually do better with word of mouth and organic social media posts. Our advertising dollars this month didnt add up to how much we wanted to. We will stick with organic reach and word of mouth and look at other ways to advertise moving forward. Still a BIG fan of Facebook Ad  re-targeting though. Our Facebook groups have grown too big. Not a bad thing, a growing pain. People are promoting too much. I need to create some new rules for the Love Your Work and Life Ladies group which has now reached 2,000 members. I also need to re-think about the goal of that group.  Its on my list to discuss this with my mastermind group tomorrow afternoon so stay tuned for an update next month. (UPDATE: We changed the name to the Classy Career Girl Network. Make sure you join us!) I didnt get as many CCGTV episodes as I would have liked to get out. Actions: Blog posts on CCG (including editing other guest contributors): 36 Podcast episodes: 6 Membership site trainings:  The Grow Your Email List challenge and Expand Your Network Challenge in our  membership communities. YouTube CCGTV episodes: 4 Facebook Live events: 2 for our members in our membership communities. It was so fun getting to know the members better and really answering questions and helping them move their careers and businesses forward! Loved this! Phone calls made to my community: 0 (We worked on big picture strategy this month so I wasnt able to make these calls. For me, I have to do one or the other. Either network and connecting or focus on strategy. Hoping to do more of these calls next month!) Goals for Next Month (August 2016) Get the word out about our networking event on September 16th. Re-think the goals for our free Love Your Work and Life Ladies Facebook group to make sure members get more of what they want and less of what they dont. Work on some fun long-term behind the scenes stuff to get our career training in universities and career centers across the country. If you want  Love Your Career Formula at your university or high school, let us know as we are working on a way to make that happen sooner rather than later! Its exciting! Find interns!!! Put a plan together for Corporate Rescue Plan 2.0.  re-launch. Prep for a free FALL in love with your work and life challenge in September. Just like last year but even better! More Instagram giveaways. If you are a brand and want to partner, let me know! Thanks for listening!

Which Diamond Engagement Ring Style is Perfect for Your Girlfriend

Which Diamond Engagement Ring Style is Perfect for Your Girlfriend If you are currently reading this and thinking at the same time just how impossible it is picking out an engagement ring your girlfriend will love, think again. It may be easier than you think to choose a diamond ring that complements her style, personality and preferences all in one. It just takes some extra digging and research on your part and reading this article is the best place to start. If you didn’t want to go engagement ring shopping and wanted to leave it as a surprise, there are certain checks you can do beforehand. Doing so will ensure you buy the perfect ring for your girlfriend. Firstly, it helps to browse a store which has a great choice of settings and styles for diamond rings. You can check the finest diamond engagement rings collection in Melbourne at Simon West Fine Jewellery. Considering these points will help you choose the perfect engagement ring for her: Think about her lifestyle: Depending on the sort of life your fiancé lives, for example what she does for her day job, you will want to find styles to suit accordingly. If she is a personal trainer, it’s safe to say she will be very active so something very intricate won’t be so practical. Consider something that fits in with your girlfriend’s lifestyle and you will find something great for her. Take a peek at her jewellery collection: It’s always a good idea to peak into her jewellery collection whilst she’s not looking. That way you will be able to see her current style and preferences. Keep an eye out especially on rings. What colours does she love? What shape of stones are most of her rings in? What other settings does she have? What bands does she normally wear (bands is the metal which holds the stones)? Buy a loose diamond: If you have a girlfriend who is harder to please, you may not want to take the risk. You can always try this however: think about buying a loose diamond and wrapping it up. This way you can still do a surprise proposal with something tangible yet she can then choose the final design. Consider the size: Not every woman falls head over heels over the biggest diamonds. In fact, it’s often the cut of the diamond that makes a real difference to the overall sparkle and shine. So look into her style and try to find whether she already wears smaller, medium or larger stones of her rings. Ask her friends and family: Now this sort of going behind her back is something that your fiancé won’t mind at all. Especially if you use the information wisely to help choose a perfect diamond engagement ring. Try and ask the right questions and probe for more information from those closest to her. Simon West will ensure you discover or even create the perfect ring designed for your needs. This way you can choose something that looks as though it was made for your girlfriend. Using these points will help you make the right choices when it comes down to choosing the best diamond ring for your proposal. It will give you a better idea of what your girlfriend loves in an engagement ring so you won’t have to take such a gamble. Image Source, Image Source; Image Source

Summary Writing For Resume - When You Need a Writing Skills

Summary Writing For Resume - When You Need a Writing SkillsSummary writing for resume is one of the most important skills that you can possess when applying for a job. Without this skill, you might never be hired for any position because employers are always looking for resumes that have been well written.The reasons for writing a resume that is well written are varied. One reason is that an employer may just want to see how someone has written their resume before they hire them and then they may refer potential employees to this person.Another reason is that an employer might want to read a potential candidate for their company and determine if they are right for the job or not. In some cases, they may want to write this candidate a letter of recommendation as well. Or, they may simply be looking for the most concise summary they can find.Either way, the main purpose of a resume is to be able to tell an employer what they are looking for. It is the beginning of an interview, so it n eeds to be professional and as brief as possible. A resume is only as good as the person who wrote it.One of the best examples of this is the resume that professional writers produce. Even when you hire someone to do the writing for you, it is important to hire someone who knows what they are doing. Even if you hire someone to do the writing for you, you still need to be sure the writer has done it before.A written resume is only as good as the person who wrote it. So, if you think a writer is writing poorly, you should ask them to rewrite the resume for you. If they refuse, you should consider hiring someone else to do it.Most resumes do not get rewritten. They only get edited and cleaned up. But, even a little editing can help.If a resume seems out of place, you should ask the writer to change it, and if they refuse, you should get another writer to rewrite it. You may end up with a resume that can help your chances of getting the job, but it could also get you fired if it does no t get past the gatekeepers in the company.

5 Careers in the Entertainment Industry - CareerAlley

5 Careers in the Entertainment Industry - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Working in the Entertainment Industry sounds glamorous, and many times it is. There are many rewarding jobs in Entertainment that play supporting roles, without which the actors and actresses who perform in TV, the Film Industry and Broadway could not perform. For those who are artistic, there are many jobs that allow you to express yourself but also pay well. Many of these jobs are behind the scenes (such as lighting, makeup, cameras, costumes, etc.) andprovide key support to performers, directors and producers. Fortunately for those looking for a career in Entertainment, there are many options. Leveragingthe Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations category from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median salary in the industry is $46,000 and the top 10% earn more than $100,000 per year. Obviously, much depends on the specific job role, where the job is located, training and the number of years of experience. If you are considering a career in the Entertainment, consider one of the following: Makeup Artist For actors that have risen to meteoric fame by way of one character in particular, it can be near impossible to rid themselves of that persona in the eyes of the viewer, and avoid the stagnant world of typecast roles. Near impossible yes, but thanks to a little something every makeup school grad learns to master facial prosthetics not completely impossible. According to BLS, Makeup Artists earn an average salary of $53,000 per year and the top 10% earn in excess of $122,000 per year. Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators If you enjoy painting,drawing or working on animated films or cartoons this may be the right career for you. People who work as illustrators in the entertainment industry get tocollaborate with writers and directors to help transform stories with art. Sculptors are sometimes called upon to create miniature models of cities or scenes using clay or wax orgraphics. Working in the world of cartoons, artists may get the opportunity toprepare sketches of cartoon characters. Compensation varies, buy concept artists can earn an average of $81,000 per year. Screenwritter Screenwriters create screenplays for films or TV from original story lines or sometimes written by others. Screenwriters work with a script development team to create a finished product. Screenwriters are typically freelancers (they dont work for a specific company). Sometimes they are hired by a Producer to create a screenplay from a true story or from a novel. Compensation varies wildly, depending on the experience and reputation of the screenwritter. Camera Operator (Cameraman) A camera operator (or cameraman) is usually part of a camera crew who works closely with directors and other production staff to help record events (scenes)for movies, TV and sporting events. A cameraman is a professional operator of a film or video camera generallyshoot raw footage on location. Becoming a cameraman does require some education and training. Becoming a cameraman require a bachelors degree in a field related to film or broadcasting, cinematography or video-editing. Additionally, they must have a good understanding of digital cameras and editing software. According to BLS, the median salary for cameramen is $49,000 per year. Costume Designer Costume Designersdesign and fit costumes for film, television, and stage. They work closely with the director so that they can understand the story line and can draw sketchesof potential costumes.Depending on the story (time, place and characters), they will need to suggest and agreecostume materialsand accessories with the director. Costume designers generally have towork under tight deadlines and may need to work on or near the production site. According to BLS, costume designers earn a median salary of $36,000 per year and can go as high as $85,000 per year. We are always eager to hear from our readers. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions regarding CareerAlley content. Good luck in your search,Joey Google+

Entrepreneurs Should Avoid These Mistakes At All Costs!

Entrepreneurs Should Avoid These Mistakes At All Costs! If you’re just starting out in the business world, there is a reasonable chance you are going to make some mistakes during the next couple of years. That is normal, and so you shouldn’t worry too much. However, success lies in your ability to identify the errors you make and avoid them the next time around. Still, there are some mistakes you are best to avoid at all costs, and some of the worst ones get a mention below. In the hope of helping you to prevent issues that could ruin your ambitions; do everything possible to avoid the mistakes published in this article. Mistake 1: Not taking online security seriously Like it or not, there are thousands of professional criminal hackers out there who spend their entire working day attempting to break into computer networks to steal information. You can’t let that happen to your business because you might lose customer payment details or something similar. If that happens, your firm is going to get a lot of bad press. Also, there is a reasonable chance your profits will take a hit. So, do yourself a favor and build a relationship with a company that provides IT support before it’s too late. Brands in that niche will often advise you on the best computer security solutions, and they can also swing into action whenever you face an issue. Mistake 2: Not using technology to boost productivity There is lots of technology out there that could assist you in streamlining your operation and boosting productivity. However, lots of new entrepreneurs fail to keep their fingers on the pulse and make the right investments when it comes to the latest releases. If you want to stay ahead of the game and ensure you always beat your competition, it is sensible to check relevant news websites and blogs every single day. Look for articles that highlight new advancements or software releases that could benefit your business. You can then adopt them before your competitors and gain a competitive edge over their brands. Mistake 3: Not working within laws and regulations Failure to follow laws and industry-related regulations is the worst thing you can do as a business owner. Your employees could take you to court at any time if you ask them to break the law by performing their duties, and you might face lots of trouble from the authorities if you are not careful. With that in mind, if there is any uncertainty, it is sensible to build a relationship with a reputable legal team. Find some lawyers who understand your industry and can provide you with some advice if you ever get stuck. If all entrepreneurs manage to avoid those mistakes when building their new brands; there is a decent chance those people will achieve their goals. Starting a business is the best way to improve your quality of life and gain a little more freedom. So, if you’re only just starting out; be sure to use tips from this article and others on this site to ensure you leave no stone unturned. It’s hard to get free advice related to the business world, but that’s precisely what this blog hands out every single day. Catch you back here next time!