WorkAbility

Find some help, even a site supervisor, to assist you with your building project. Let me say it again. Find some help, even a site supervisor, to assist you with your building project. It may save your life. Building a home is not easy. Organization, time lines, payments, corrections, delays, and so much more should be done by someone seasoned in construction management. There are many different ways to build a home and we are going to introduce you to the two most popular and safe ways to do it. Supervisor Job Description You may have heard of "Turn-Key" construction or home building. This is where you hire a Licensed General Contractor to build your home. There are some builders that will build...

The contrarian in me is licking his chops at the prices of houses in the United States. The US market has undergone severe corrections over the past few years. Economic uncertainty is still in the air and there is the potential for further mortgage defaults on the horizon. Real estate investment is a game of risk vs. reward. While the age old saying is location, location, location you can also add timing, timing, timing to the equation. The key to winning in this market is understanding the economics of the market and the correct price point that the market will support. First a review is in order of the fundamentals of buying and selling real estate, and how they apply in this market. Buying and...

The best home based businesses available online are those that are completely legitimate and allow the worker to gain a steady income throughout the month or year. These businesses are not hard to find if you know what you are looking for and also what type of job you want to online. Some of the best home based businesses can include data entry, writing, selling products, advertising and virtual assistant. Depending on the experience you have in a certain area and also the qualifications you have these jobs can bring a very good and stable income into your household, but you have to be patient. Virtual assistant jobs online is one of the best ways to earn money, this job can be done as a freelance...

LinkedIn is one of the most popular online career-focused networking tools available today.  It has over 40 million members, and it’s growing.  Did you know that 80% of employers use LinkedIn as a networking tool to find the best candidates?  LinkedIn provides such an amazing array of opportunities, it’s increasingly becoming “the place to be” for professionals in all industries, all over the world.    It's a vital tool for those interested in medical sales, laboratory sales, medical device sales, biotech sales, pharmaceutical sales, or any healthcare sales. LinkedIn’s primary purpose is to allow its users to interact with other professionals to help enhance career opportunities...

Dave Kurlan wrote an outstanding post: Bench Strength - The Key To Replacing Salespeople. He mentioned that managers must always be recruiting. It's such a simple concept, but I am constantly amazed at how few managers-at all levels do this. Here's how the cycle goes. We have a bad performer in place, we worry about firing the person, because it leaves an open territory...too often we think coverage is more important than quality. Maybe the manager might start looking casually for someone, but the normal day to day events slow the process down, consequently nothing is done for too long. Or it may go like this: One day, our star performer walks in and resigns. We panic-she's going to leave a huge gap...

In my sales management career, I would bet that I've seen about 5,000 resumes for sales people. Yet, I still haven't seen one that shows someone who has achieved 40% of quota. Every single resume shows 100%, 200%, 2,000,000% of goal. Where are all of the people who have had less than stellar sales performances? Did they all leave the sales profession? If all of the resumes that I saw truly represented the performance of the individual, the U.S. economy would be thriving to say the least. Every company would be enjoying record revenue performances. If you have read my past articles, you've felt my passion for creating sales marriages, those relationships whereby a mutually beneficial relationship is...

A recruiting plan in many ways is much like any other plan. To accomplish an important goal, you need a plan. No matter if it is personal or professional. As talented people are the lifeblood of a corporation, a plan to attract and hire top candidates is critical to the success of any organization. Pre-Planning Before creating a recruiting plan, there are 2 critical steps, an inventory of resources available and a set of well documented job descriptions for the jobs requiring fulfillment. First we'll talk about the resources. As in any plan, you need to understand what tools are available so you can work within an appropriate framework. The most elegant plan that does not realistically include...

The short answer is yes.  A recruiter can and will absolutely help you put together a 30/60/90-day plan, especially an external recruiter whose paycheck depends on you getting the job.  The longer answer is also yes, but you have to do your part in making sure that happens.  A good recruiter can point you in the right direction for your research on the company.  But you also have to ask the right questions to get the recruiter to share with you what they believe and know about the company and the job. What are some basic things you need to know to create a killer 30/60/90-day plan? - What's the greatest challenge for the position? - Why is the position open? - What has to happen for the role...

The home business industry has changed whether you want to believe it or not. I believe that no longer are hotel meetings and old school strategies are the things you should be using to increase your network marketing sales. With the huge number of internet users growing daily, if you are not trying to figure out a way to get in front of this audience, you are missing out big time. Personally, I use a lot of social networking sites such as MySpace because I get to build relationships that way. I can't tell you how tired I am of people literally spamming me with offers. That is the nasty vibe people get when they hear income opportunities thrown all through the net. Like I mentioned, these websites...

Money is a big item on a job seeker's mind, for sure. You know you're interested in the job, or you wouldn't be there, and the top of the list for you is finding out the mystery of what you could get paid. But one of the cardinal rules of interviewing for job seekers is: Never bring up money in your job interview. It's a BIG no-no. ALL you talk about in the interview is what they need, what solution they need, what problem they have, who's been able to fix it before, and how you can fix it. It's a big worry for people, but it's important that you don't talk about money in the job interview. Why? You don't have anything to talk about until they make you an offer. In fact, if they ask you about money...

Independent sales rep jobs are abundant with many companies who don't currently have a sales force or for those who want to expand their current one. It's a great opportunity for those who want the flexibility to be self-employed and work from home. Finding good job opportunities can be challenging but great opportunities can be had. Many companies are looking for new independent sales reps to hire for many different reasons. Company might not want to invest the time and money it requires to hire a full time employed sales force. Building and managing a sales force can be very time consuming and expensive. Most full time independent reps are paid either a base salary or a minimum draw every month...

Yes, you can. There are all kinds of resources online for you to tap into: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, corporate websites, and Google. Your network can come in pretty handy here, too. If for some reason there's a lack of information online (like maybe it's a smaller company) and you can't, then that's definitely a strong reason to do what you can and bring it into the interview anyway, since that's an excellent opportunity to ask the questions that will lead to a greater understanding of what it will take to be successful in that job. Candidates often think that their 30/60/90-day plan has to be perfect before they show it to the hiring manager, and that keeps many of them from creating a plan at...

Sales meetings. What kind of feeling does that term bring up in you? If you're a manager, do you struggle to find meaningful, fresh content each week? Or are you prepared and look forward to the chance to lead and inspire your sales team? If you're a sales rep, do you dread taking time away from the phone and think your company's meetings are just a big waste of time and energy? Here's the good news -- a good sales meeting can be a powerful sales tool and can provide valuable training and information that helps everyone perform better. If you're a manager use this outline to instantly improve the effectiveness of your sales meetings, and if you are a sales rep, forward this to your manager! The...

I got approached by someone who is in Ardyss International, who needed help growing their business. I'll give you all the outline that I gave them to promote their business, with specific examples that you can alter and use for your business: #1. Ask Yourself What Type of Problem Does Your Product Solve? #2. Where Can I find people who suffer from the problem my product solves? #3. How can I persuade that group of sufferers that my product is the absolute best product that will help their condition? #4 How do I automate the process of educating and exposing the business in a systematic that doesn't involve me explaining the business or product more than once? Okay, so here is what I came up With for...

In 2006, an elderly neighbor of mine, a very sweet lady I'll call Jane whom I had known for years, invited me, my father, and my wife to a meeting in her home about a product called MonaVie, an antioxidant fruit beverage that was purported to relieve chronic rheumatism and arthritis as well as help the prognosis of people fighting cancer. Jane gave a bottle to my father, who has had arthritis since his late 20s, saying that it had helped her daughter-in-law with some chronic joint pain and hoping it would do the same for him. While I trust Jane and believe she sincerely had my dad's best interests at heart, I am naturally skeptical of any product that claims to produce such results. However, I...

When you are looking to make a new start in the field of online marketing and sales, you'll find that there are a lot of terms that are thrown your way and direct network marketing and direct sales are going to be two that see a great deal of. Although both of these options are excellent for helping you make money, you need to understand a little bit about the difference between them and how they relate to you. Remember that you will want to go with the options that play to your strengths, and that you will want to make sure that the choices you make reflect the manner in which you want to make money. First, we can take look at network marketing. Network marketing involves a very hands-on business...

One of the many, many fantastic applications of LinkedIn is that you can use it to land informational interviews. Informational interviews are just what they sound like: they are interviews that you conduct to gather information, usually about a job or a career field you're interested in. They last 20-30 minutes, and give you an opportunity to get answers about what a typical day is like, what the person likes or dislikes about the field, and what it takes to be successful. You can also use it as a mentoring session and ask for their advice on your situation and your best career/job search moves. Research tips for informational interviews to help you compile your list of questions. Informational...

So you have found the perfect sales job and wowed your potential employer with your CV and covering letter. You don't want to fall at the last hurdle - the interview, so make sure you prepare. The interview will be your most important sales pitch, because you are selling yourself to the employer, but with proper preparation the interview can go smoothly. Ensure you research the company and if possible the person who is interviewing you. The relevant information can usually be found on the company's website, but information can also be found in industry related publications, which sometimes do profile articles on certain companies. It is crucial that during your interview, you are able to demonstrate...

Have you ever wondered if it carries more weight to have a written reference letter, or if it makes a better impression to have your reference speak directly to the hiring manager on the phone? The answer is:   both. Written references and verbal references serve different purposes in your job search and your interview, and so you need both types. The written reference letter is often used as a "hook" to get the attention of the hiring manager.  It's good enough to get an interview, but often not quite enough to cement the offer. The verbal reference, in the form of the phone call, is preferred post-interview.   Interviewers want to actually talk to the hiring manager and hear how fantastic you...

If you're unemployed and over 40, it can feel like a "double whammy" of trouble for you in the job search, but it doesn't have to be a negative. First of all, unemployment is a temporary status that you are going to change.  Don't be ashamed of that.  Many people (especially right now) face some period of unemployment in their careers, and it's not a big deal.  It only takes one phone call, one interview, or one job offer to make the difference. If you're changing careers, don't be afraid of that, either.  Internships, job shadowing, learning new skill sets, and the like can feel strange to someone who's been in the workforce for a while already, but they shouldn't.  40 is the new 30.  You...

If you are searching for a job in any kind of sales and you want an edge in your job interview, here it is: know how to close the interview. Closing the interview requires that you stop focusing so completely on your own performance and ask questions that help you discover the needs of your customer/hiring manager. Develop the skills to know when to close, what to say, and how to deal with objections or non-answers. The most important thing to remember about closing is to do it. No sales manager is going to hire someone who can't navigate a closing process. If you can't close on something as important as your job, which is in your own direct self-interest, how are you going to be able to close a...

If you are in an MLM and you're still struggling to sponsor people into your business, you may want to look into setting up a sales funnel. Let me explain. First, picture a funnel. It has a wide opening at the top which gets smaller and smaller near the bottom. The top of this sales funnel is where you direct your "unqualified prospects." These are people who may be interested in your opportunity, but whom you have never spoken with. At the bottom of the funnel, many sales steps down the road, you have those people who have joined your opportunity. Many of the top MLM producers are successful because they have used these funnels to dominate their industry by creating a refined sales funnel process...

Have you ever wondered if it carries more weight to have a written reference letter, or if it makes a better impression to have your reference speak directly to the hiring manager on the phone? The answer is: both. Written references and verbal references serve different purposes in your job search and your interview, and so you need both types. The written reference letter is often used as a "hook" to get the attention of the hiring manager. It's good enough to get an interview, but often not quite enough to cement the offer. The verbal reference, in the form of the phone call, is preferred post-interview. Interviewers want to actually talk to the hiring manager and hear how fantastic you were and...

As a recruiter, I am always impressed by candidates who have questions of their own to ask-and I consistently receive feedback from hiring managers all over the country who feel the same way. The candidate who's asked, "So, do you have any questions?" at the end of the interview better come up with something. One who answers, "No, I don't think so," is going to get a big negative mark against them in the hiring decision. Companies want candidates who have critical thinking skills, as well as candidates who are knowledgeable and interested in the job. The questions you ask demonstrate these things. Not having questions of your own to ask sets you up as a candidate who's passive, won't work very hard...

Have you ever found yourself in this situation? You turned down a job offer because you were sure you were getting a better one....and then you didn't. What now? Can you get that offer back? Maybe. Here's your best shot at turning this situation around for you: First of all, find out if the job is still open before you do anything. If so, contact the hiring manager you spoke to in the interview. Don't go through HR-they aren't known to be very forgiving of that kind of behavior. Besides that, HR doesn't have the need to fill that spot that the hiring manager does. If you've been through the interview and gotten the offer, the hiring manager has seen that you're a person who can solve a problem he...

It's common for me to get questions from folks in higher-level sales positions or semi-supervisory positions (maybe National Accounts Managers, etc.), maybe interviewing for Regional Accounts Manager positions, who want to know how to differentiate themselves so that they will be the ones who get tapped for promotions. There's a lot of advice out there about these kinds of things, and certainly your sales performance has to be solid to even put you in the running. I provide custom consulting at this level, too, but to get you started, here are 9 ways to raise your visibility within your organization and build your personal brand: 1) Always be over-prepared (for everything). Always be on time...

ugh Interview Questions Part 1, we touched on a few thought provoking questions similar to the ones below . However, as recruiters we feel that it is key that you get to know your sales or marketing personnel before making the decision to bring them on your team. Hopefully these questions will prove useful as well. 5. If the applicant were in your seat, what would they ask the prospective employee? Throughout the process, the prospective employee should be interviewing you as well. It is quite basic that somebody interviewing for a job should come prepared with questions. Before you go into this question, think about the important facets of your organization and see if they match. 6. Give the...

Sales representatives and business owners know what it's like to go to networking meetings, make cold calls, and knock on doors to find new business leads. While these traditional methods can produce results, online social networking offers an additional strategy for nurturing sales and growing your business. In fact, these days, if you're not using social networking tools, you're missing out on a wealth of untapped opportunities that your competitors are taking advantage of. But you won't get much out of social networking if you're not using it strategically and integrating these tools into your day-to-day selling efforts. This paper offers some crucial advice about rethinking social networking and...

So what happens when you have a really great interview, you send your follow-up email in a timely manner, but then you hear nothing? What do you do? Do you send another note? Do you contact HR? Or the hiring manager you spoke to in the interview? It's a tricky situation, and a lot of people struggle with what to do. My answer is: You need to both call and email the hiring manager. You took the time to meet with him, and if you went through that process, you spent at least 4-5 hours speaking with him or preparing for speaking with him, and you deserve to know exactly what is going on. Have they filled the position? Are they moving forward with other candidates, or are you still being considered? Are...

It seems that there's always been a stigma attached to being unemployed, and even in this economy, when so many people are without a job for a lengthy stretch, it still causes candidates to be uncomfortable and nervous about telling people that they're unemployed. They don't quite know how to handle the situation in the job search or in the interview. It's very important that you keep in mind that unemployment is a temporary state. Just because you're unemployed, that does NOT define you. The only difference between being unemployed and employed is ONE offer letter...or one phone call, one contact, or one interview. That's all. So tomorrow when you get that job offer, will you be any different than...

Here are seven additional factors to consider as you define the parameters that produce success in your company's sales job. If you are a salesperson, you can also benefit from considering these questions, as they can help you identify target prospects and further refine your sales approach. 9. Administration Which sales job functions require attention to detail? (Examples include making accurate forecasts, providing timely updates to the corporate CRM system, analyzing customer records to determine sales strategies, and ensuring regulatory compliance.) Some companies have support personnel that perform administrative tasks on their salespeople's behalf. Other companies expect their salespeople to...

As of the past few weeks, owning a recruiting firm, I have seen a dramatic shift in the job market and it's not pretty. I do hope that this hiring downturn is partly due to the fact that it is summer; however this does not seem to be the case. It is in my strong opinion that this unemployment wave is the real-deal. The main reason I can judge this quite accurately is that, statistically speaking, my agency (and I'm sure my competitors) is still receiving the same amount of hiring inquiries from employers. Though, the quality of leads coming in the requests we're receiving from employers shows that it is a bad job market...again. For instance, in a good market, 40%+ of incoming leads from a new...

"body"> In a competitive job market having a great CV is a 'must have.' With so many applicants for fewer jobs, how do you make your CV stand out from the crowd? This article will show you some of the common mistakes people make when writing a CV, and give you excellent tips to write that great CV! Why should I bother? That's a question I hear a lot and the answer is easy. With over 20 years experience in reading job applications and talking to fellow recruiters I can tell you that your CV has around 30 seconds to grip their attention if they have a pile of applications on their desk (and most do nowadays). Whether you like it or not many recruiters will do an initial scan of CV's - anything too...

It's rough out there: tens of thousands of pharma sales reps have gotten laid off in the last 2 years, and pharma layoffs are only getting worse. With so many people laid off, there are thousands of pharma reps flooding the job market in medical, healthcare, and pharmaceutical sales, and many pharmaceutical companies are telling the former sales managers of these reps that they aren't allowed to give a reference-even if it was a company-wide layoff and the rep was great. Company policy restricts them to name, rank, and serial number only: what the candidate did, how long he worked there, and why he exited the company. That's not a job-winning reference for any candidate. References are a critical...

Resume Problem 1: Employment gaps, including lengthy stretches of unemployment: Solution: Only put on your resume the years you worked at each job, not the month and the year. Example: 2004 to 2009, not June 2004 to January 2009. If you were laid off in January 2009, and put this date on your resume, prospective employers will do the math and figure out you've been out of work for 17 months; however, if you just write the years, for all they know you could have been laid off in December 2009...5 months ago. Tons of people have been out of work that long. And, if your resume is well written with a good Look and Feel, companies will give you the benefit of the doubt and likely invite you in for an...

Are you a job seeker that has focused on perfecting and tailoring your resume, believing that your resume is the most important tool for landing your next job? If you are, you better get comfortable with your current situation. Anymore, if you are not sending an amazing cover letter with your resume, you may as well not send your resume at all. As a recent job seeker, I spent a lot of time and money perfecting my resume. Every resume that I sent addressed every need of the employer, according to the position listing. Along with my perfect resume, I sent a well written, but quite general, cover letter. After reading an article about the importance of a well written cover letter, I began focusing on...

Have you ever tried writing a job acceptance letter? When you receive a job offer, it only makes sense to accept it in person. For legal and practical purposes, however, it's always good practice to make it formal by writing a job acceptance letter. Remember: a job acceptance letter is a legal record that documents your understanding of your new position. While we always hope for the best when starting with a company, it is still better to cover all your bases, just in case the chips don't fall the right way. Here are seven ways on how you'll do it: 1. Address it to whoever sent you the offer. 2. Start by thanking that individual, then stating that you accept it, in very clear terms. 3. Restate all...

Well Written But Not Personal: If you really want to write a sample cover letter that gets noticed, then say something about the company you are applying to. Not something obvious, something they will know you had to dig deep to find out. A recent company award, an article in a trade magazine, a recent contract they were awarded. This approach says a great deal about you. Example, "I read recently that you received a ten year, accident free award. As a health inspector myself, I know first hand that is no small feat. Again, congratulations." It may seem like a non-relevant thing to say in your cover letter, but is it? As a health inspector, it's certainly relevant as a tie in for the position you...

Are you bragging about yourself enough on your resume? I don't mean bragging in an obnoxious or fictitious sort of way, but in a "look what I can do" sort of way. One of the main things I notice with my clients and their existing resumes is that they don't BRAG enough about their accomplishments. They don't talk enough about what they've done above and beyond their daily responsibilities. My worksheets are very C.A.R.-oriented. The C.A.R. methodology is this: Challenge, Action, Results. What Challenge did you face? What Action did you take to rectify it? And lastly, what were the Results? It is a very accomplishment-focused method and works wonderfully every time I have a client who doesn't talk...

Submitting a poorly constructed cover letter will cause you a lot of damage. Your resume will not only be ignored but also possible job interview will be out of reach. As a job hunter, you might need a cover letter, Curriculum Vitae (CV) or resume, and information. The CV functions the same way as a resume. However, they are more preferable for advanced degree holders in academic and research fields. As such, a CV cover letter should be written carefully and it should contribute to your reader's good perception of you. The letter is designed to accompany your CV. Metaphorically, it functions like a friend does, that is, to help and support each other. It is submitted so that you have the opportunity...

How to make a good resume is becoming more important as we move through these troubled economic times. Consider the resume as being the top item in helping to locate a good job. To start, make sure the basic structure of any good resume is sound. And there are also several different variations in resumes. Therefore, the first major decision you need to make is just which structure will work best in your particular circumstance. There are three major types. The first and most popular resume format is the chronological setup. In this one, you're going to be emphasizing the jobs you've held and the dates you held them, from most recent to oldest. It's worth noting that many recruiters and employers...

Veteran applicants should not be satisfied with his first draft of a cover letter. Closely reexamine the letter to incorporate alterations and corrections not visible in the first draft. All cover letters for a teaching job should be written in a business letter format and generally with a content of three brief paragraphs. The first paragraph states the purpose of the letter. The second paragraph summarizes your qualifications for the teaching job. Be concise and avoid redundancy. The final paragraph is basically a request to be considered for the job, and stating the possibility of being interviewed for the position. Cover letter for a teaching job is expected to be scrutinized more than any other...

In sales, when people talk about cold calling, they are actually trying to get hold of a potential client that has not yet decided for such interaction. The client is not aware of such calls or has not purposely requested the salesperson to call him or her, hence, the term "cold." Similarly, cold cover letters can provide you the opportunity of contacting a hiring manager and inquire for any possibilities of employment in their company. In most cases, there had been no apparent announcements or advertisements regarding the position applicants wish to apply. With cold cover letters, job applicants are trying to spontaneously get hold of a job offer that has not been specifically declared. That is why...

A winning nursing resume is an entirely achievable goal as long as you know how to best express yourself with regards to heath care expectations and experiences. To do this, try using a sample nursing resume, which will give you the layout, keywords, and key points that should be covered. It is this type of assistance that will ensure that you get your foot in the door of the nursing industry, and start your way down the path to success. With a sample resume, you'll recognize all of the vital components that are standard and desirable in a resume. To start, a sample nursing resume will show you that a nursing resume should never be any longer than two pages. In fact, ideally, if it is at all...

A college student looking for an intern position shot her cover letter over to me. She wanted some constructive criticism. I wanted to deconstruct it, blow it up, drown it in red ink, and send it back to her. Instead, I was nice about it. I am, at times, flabbergasted by the number of people who either do not know how to write a cover letter or do not understand its importance. So, I thought I would address a few points: 1. A Cover letter is a personal correspondence between you and the addressee. Therefore, it must abide by a few "rules." • It must be addressed to a live person, which would be the person you want to have read the letter. • The letter must be warm in that the reader's reaction...

With the shape the economy is in today we are seeing many older people hunting for jobs. It is no longer common for people nearing or at retirement age to retire. For many of our senior citizens it is a must to keep working past retirement. It is however commonplace to see many people nearing retirement age looking for second careers. But competing with the younger generation for jobs can be very difficult. It would be great if employers would not eliminate candidates for interviews based solely on their age. But lets face it; we live in a world where youthfulness usually wins over experience. In any case it would be wise to remove any reference to age from your resume, this gives you a better...

Try to be bold about it: the competition in the sales industry is definitely intense and aggressive that one must be witty, smart and know how to sell oneself in the eyes of a prospective employer. Yes, candidates should know how to advertise themselves and this can be made possible with the help of a sales cover letter. It is a fact that when you apply for a certain position, you do not immediately have the chance to come face to face with an employer. Most of the time, employers opt for a cover letter to represent an applicant. This cover letter will be the one to stand for you and speak on your behalf. Given this state, it is a must that your sales cover letter should be comprehensible...

Aside from your resume, writing a cover letter is a must as you apply for a job. When you express your interest for a certain position in a company, the first contact that you can make is by writing a cover letter. What use will the resume have if the formal communication is not passed on to the recruiting officer? The cover letter is in fact the provider of your chance to be invited to the office and be granted an interview. The Real Deal in Writing a Cover Letter Writing the cover letter will give enough insights in highlighting the qualifications you've got so that you will get the chance of landing the job you so want to get. Before an employer will take time to read your resume, he will firstly...

You never know when a great opportunity for a new job will come along, so you don't want to find your self in a panic trying to locate all of the new information to be added to an old resume. Whether you are unemployed and living in tough economic times, considering looking for a new job, or are worried about being laid off, it is important to keep your resume updated. Missing out on a great job opportunity can be a devastating experience. It is essential to make sure you are ready for unexpected events that may result in losing your job. Companies will often make cutbacks in order to maintain profitability. This can involve massive layoffs. You should be ready by updating your resume when you have...