Spark a Conversation Criminal Records and Video Interviews - Spark Hire

Spark a Conversation Criminal Records and Video Interviews - Spark HireHere at Spark Hire, we want to help companies utilize the power of online video to find the best candidates. We get a lot of questions from readers about best practices for using online video in the hiring process. These posts will address those questions about how to find your next superstar employee.Question How can I find out about a candidates criminal record in the video interview? Sara from Washington D.C. When you have to fill a position, you are going to come into contact with all kinds of people. Each of those people have their own platzdeckchen of challenges, but for an employer it an be very difficult or challenging to interview someone with a criminal record. While you want to get certain information from them, you want to make sure you are notlage being discriminatory. Asking certain questions, or coming to a hiring decision based on discriminatory reasons, can land you in a deal of trouble. Basicall y, hiring managers need to be sure they are compliant with all regulations- generally the regulations that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sets (EEOC).For starters, you dont want to ask interview questions about a candidates criminal history or record unless it is relevant to the job. Legally, you can inquire about a felony conviction but you cannot make discriminatory comments on the subject. Once it has been brought up in the job interview, be sure to ask the candidate to explain their past and what they learned from their previous mistakes. When you are in a video interview with these candidates, you want to look for someone who can explain their situation without getting defensive. Its part of their past so they should be able to talk about it calmly. Plus, this is a job interview so they should be prepared to tackle the question.Even though this candidate has a criminal record, that doesnt mean that is the only thing you should be focusing on in the video interview. You need to tackle that portion, true, but you also need to discuss their skill set and past experience as well. What did they do in their career after their conviction? Is this their first job after that or have they been working since? What other companies have they worked for in the past and do they have the passion for this industry?Video interviewing a candidate with a criminal record can be a bit challenging, but its something that all hiring managers need to be prepared for. You will meet many different people in the hiring process and those with criminal records are not exempt.Do you have a question you need answered? Spark a conversation with the Spark Hire team by submitting your question to blog(at)sparkhire.com or in the comments below.

Should You Write Your Resume in 1st or 3rd Person The Answer Is No!

Should You Write Your Resume in 1st or 3rd Person The Answer Is NoShould You Write Your Resume in 1st or 3rd Person The Answer Is NoThere are voices in your head, competing for your attention all the time. Theyre trying to sneak onto your resume.So which one should you listen to? Should you be I or she or he?One of the first decisions you need to make before starting to write your resume is whether you want to write in the 1st or 3rd person.Throughout the few past decades, theres been an ongoing discussion about which voice to use in your career documents. And HR experts views have been changing, too, taking different sides every time.But dont worry, weve sorted this issue out for you. Heres the contemporary approach to the dilemma of writing your resume in the 1st or 3rd person.First person, third person and pronounsThe secret to a fresh, outstanding resume is to remove the pronouns entirely.Pronouns are redundant. Try it for yourself- get rid of all instances of I, he or she from y our resume. It wont change a thing. Their use is implied and everyone will know who youre talking about.Whats mora, pronouns take up a lot of space on your resume that you could fill withverbs and adjectives instead. Without them, your resume can start to breathe more freely and make your skills and experience shine.Lets take a look at an example First person I managed a stock room of 20,000+ items. Third person He managed a stock room of 20,000+ items.Sure, you could get away with either of the two. On the other hand, there are just too many reasons that make them useless in modern resume writing. Third person feels rather strange. When was the last time youve heard someone refer to themselves as he, she orMike? When it comes to the first person, using it you can easily come across as a bit boring, repetitive or egocentric. Now remove the pronounsManaged a stock room of 20,000+ items.Wow Can you see that? This phrasing is far more effective and concise.You can avoid the inevitably repetitive pronouns. And the whole resume will, in turn,read far more naturally.By using this approach, youll soon be able to craft short, succinct bullet points speaking of your past achievements.What if you still want to use pronouns?But even after reading all this, it might be too hard for you to say goodbye to your pronouns. Thats perfectly fine. You just need to stay aware of their function.You should definitely feel free to write your resume in either first or third person. Both of them are acceptable but they can be tricky to work with.First things first. If you do decide to use a pronoun, be careful to follow suit and use the same pronoun throughout your resume. Consistency is key. Jumping from 1st to 3rd person pronouns- and leaving them out from time to time too- can easily result in notgetting invited to a job interview.First personUsing the 1st person to talk about yourself sounds very logical. Its also more direct, engaging and personal.But as soon youve used the word I once,it becomes really tricky. If you want to stay consistent, youll have to start repeating yourself- or come up with very innovative ways to keep your Is in check.Last but not least, use 1st person pronouns sound informal, even unprofessional. Which means that unless youre applying for a highly creative position, you should steer clear of using it at all.Third personThird person is accepted as a standard resume convention. Looking a bit too formal, it keeps your resume impersonal and reduces the chance of sounding too egocentric.This style also creates the distance necessary to enable the HR manager to focus on your skills and value rather than your personality.If you decide to go with 3rd person, however, dont use your name to say things about yourself. Starting off with Shervin is an expert in will come across at best strange and at worst slightly creepy.After finishing your resume, read it aloud for yourself and try to evaluate the tone of its voice. If it makes the impression that you wrote your resume as a testimonial or if it sounds like youve got somebody else to write your resume, the work is not over yet.Back to basicsAt the end of the day, its facts that matter. Everybody knows youre going to talking about yourself in your resume. So using a pronoun feels just like bringing sand to the beach.The plain truth is that HR managers and recruiters crave for a simple, honest resume. Theyll always lean towards candidates whose resumes are easier to digest. And the fewer pronouns there are, the less time theyll have to spend reading it.A standout pronoun-free resume will focus on content loaded words such as nouns, verbs and adjectives. Anything else is an obstacle that recruiters eyes will have to jump over.This is why you need to weed out any confusing or unnecessary elementsand keep only those that are there for a reason.Lets sum it upThis article has brought light to a couple of pain points in a job seekers resume. If you decide to put them into practi ce, youre sure to become a well-versed resume creator with an impeccable career document in your hands.Here are 4 basic rules for a simple but powerful resumeWrite in the past tense.Focus on things you have achieved.Write in the 3rd person but eliminate any pronouns.Use short bullet points to strip out any unnecessary fillers words.Share Your Feedback or Ideas in the Comments

Tired at work for no reason You could have social jet lag

Tired at work for no reason You could have social jet lagTired at work for no reason You could have social jet lagIf youre tired at work for no reason, it may not be because you stayed up too late, but because your internal clock is hardwired differently.According to a new study published in Scientific Reports, too many of us are experiencing social jet lag, a condition defined as the misalignments between our circadian rhythms and our built environment. Under social jet lag, our hours of peak alertness are in conflict with the social impositions of morning meetings, late-night networking, and other work demands scheduled outside of our control. And when these scheduled demands are out of sync with our internal clock, our careers are what pay the price.Study Social jet lag takes a toll on academic performanceWhen researchers tracked two years of14,894 Northeastern Illinois Universitystudents activity logs, they found that students who were going to classes out of sync with their pref erred clock had lowergrade-point averages.Sorry night owls, we live in a world ruled by morning larks. The researchers found that the majority of students - 60%- experience mora than 30 minutes of social jet lag on average, but that night owls were particularly hurt hard by the biological timing effect. This is more bad news for those of who work best after dark. Night owls not only experience an academic disadvantage, but they have higher health risks too. Recent research found that night owls experience a 10% higher risk of dying than those who prefer mornings.Flexible schedules could fix thisThis study should be a wake-up call for employers and employees to pay more attention to schedules. For employees, this can mean noting what hours you feel wired and which times you feel tired so that you can work to create the optimal schedule for yourself.And for employers, this means giving employees the latitude to create their ideal schedules. Instead of forcing workers to become mornin g larks and night owls, researchers suggest that flexible work schedules are key to getting the peak performance out of every person, no matter their circadian rhythm.Rather than admonish late students to go to bed earlier, in conflict with their biological rhythms, we should work to individualize education so that learning and classes are structured to take advantage of knowing what time of day a given student will be most capable of learning, Benjamin Smarr, one of the studys authors, said.

4 Practical Tips to Negotiate a Pay Raise for Women

4 Practical Tips to Negotiate a Pay Raise for Women4 Practical Tips to Negotiate a Pay Raise for WomenYouve heard all about the gender pay gap in the US, and can probably recite the statistics in your sleep- particularly the 79 cents on the dollar that women earn compared to their male peers. Were not about to try and solve the national pay gap. But what we can show you is how to narrow your personal pay gap. Heres what you need to know, say, and do to earn more money. What You Need to Know The very first thing you need to know is how much youre worth and how much a man in an equivalent position is worth, says Alison Doyle, Job Searchexpert for The Balance. You can start by going to Glassdoor.com, Payscale.com, Indeed.com and other salary sites to get a sense of what salaries are like for jobs you are looking at. But know that those numbers- because theyre based on the average salaries of both men and women- are going to be low. You want to aim for the average of men, so take the numbers you find and increase them by a good 25 percent. Human resources and job boards may also be a good source of information, Doyle notes. Ask Is there a salary sortiment for this position? Some of them list it right on the website. If youre negotiating for a raise rather than a new job, you also need to have a good handle on what youve contributed, says Dr. Ben Sorenson, Vice President for Optimum Associates. Rather than try to create a document that charts this looking back, start today and do it going forward. If you receive an email from your boss that pats you on the back for a big win, put it in the folder. The same goes for the sales numbers in which youve played a role- particularly ones that show how your performance this year improved over last. What You Need to Say When an offer hits the table, youre tempted to do a little dance of joy. Do it in your head- but dont let it hit your face. Say thank you, of course (Doyle says being nice rather than contentious is ke y), then ask for time to consider. When youre ready to respond, heres one way to ask for more Im really excited about the offer, but based on my research, it seems low. Also, let the company know theyre not the only game in town I need to give the other companies Im talking to the courtesy of telling them I have an offer. I would do the same for you. If instead,youre asking for a raise, you need adifferent language. Again, it comes back to your performance. (Think not of what your company does for you, one of my early bosses advised me, riffing on JFK, but of what you do for your company.) Lay it on the table, then ask As a result of this performance, would it be possible to get a raise or increase in pay? If the answer is no, follow up immediately with Id like to get your feedback on increasing my pay to this level, based on where I stand in the organization and on my performance, Sorenson advises. What You Shouldnt Say When applying to a new job, its common to be asked your sa lary history, or how much money you want to make. Dont answer these questions, says Katie Donovan, founder of equalpaynegotiations.com. Answering either one of these questions is going to keep you underpaid, she says, adding that if youre filling out an online application, you should leave it blank. (If its a required field put in 0.00, she says. For fruchtwein systems thatll be accepted theyre just looking for a digit.) And if youre asked what you are currently making? If youre among the 60 percent of Americans working in the private sector, its actually confidential, Donovan says. And Massachusetts just made it illegal to ask about salary history in a job interview, a trend that could go nationwide. So in many cases, you can honestly say youre not allowed to reveal it. Or you can find another way to dodge the question Its not about me, its about the job. What is the job budgeted for?Im moving from a city where the cost of living is less expensive.I just got a graduate degree, so I m not sure my past salary is relevant. If all else fails, Doyle says, you can throw out a range, but do it with a codicil about why you expect to be at the high end of that. How to Say It Ive always agreed with Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovitch and Meg Ryan in Youve Got Mail Work is personal. And for that reason, it can be emotional. But when youre negotiating, youve got to leave that emotion at the door. That means the idea of fairness- and the fact that others at the company may earn more- should not enter the discussion. Youre not negotiating for equal pay, says Sorenson. Youre negotiating for elevated pay. With Kelly Hultgren

Customize this Outstanding Bookkeeping Clerk Resume

Customize this Outstanding Bookkeeping Clerk ResumeCustomize this Outstanding Bookkeeping Clerk ResumeCreate Resume Objective To get a position as Bookkeeping Clerk and to gain further experience in this field.Experience SummaryResponsibly handled various booking and accounting tasksExtensive Knowledge in the use of QuickBooks for various accounting tasksProfessional ExperienceControl Accounting, July 20XX to PresentOrr Sons, New HampshireHandled reconciliation tasks related to mutual fundsReported charges in daily mutual fund share positionsIntroduced work process that increased work productivity and received appreciation from senior members on the sameBilling SupervisorABC Investments, New HampshireIn-charge of supervising working of the existing billing system for departmental salary disbursementHandled invoice preparation and reconciliation of monthly statementsBookkeeper, July 20XX to August 20XXOcean Shipping Inc, New HampshireHandled accounts payable and accounts receivablePr epared sales invoice and various shipment related invoice.Education20XX 20XX Glenden School of Management Studies, New HampshireCompleted a Comprehensive Secretarial CourseDiploma in AccountancySkillsFast TypingKnowledge in using stimmt and Excel.Know extensive usage of QuickBooks. Able to quickly learn new software packagesReferencesFurnished upon requestCustomize Resume

Why you dont have to be an extrovert to make it to the top

Why you dont have to be an extrovert to make it to the topWhy you dont have to be an extrovert to make it to the topSusan Cainis a co-founder of Quiet Revolution, a curator of the Next Big Idea Club, and the world-renowned author ofQuiet The Power of Introverts in a World That Cant Stop Talking.Elena L. Botelhohas advised over 200 CEOs and boards, first as a strategy consultant at McKinsey and currently as a senior partner at ghSMART. After her recent book,The CEO Next Door The 4 Behaviors that Transform Ordinary People into World-Class Leaders, was selected as a Spring Next Big Idea Club selection, she and Susan sat down to discussthe surprising truth about what it takes to become a leader.SusanBased on all this research, you found that there were real misperceptions in what we think makes a good leader, and who should be promoted to leadership positions. Can you talk a little bit about what those misperceptions are?ElenaWhat it takes to succeed is something thats constantly in the public spotlight. Many of us have this picture in our minds of this larger-than-life personality, who rides in on a white horse, and with just the force of natural charisma, gets the troops to follow them through hell or high water. I was once in a boardroom, and the board was working through a decision of who to appoint as CEO. We had assessed several candidates for the position, and it was clear that there was one candidate who looked like a really strong choice. He had a tremendous track record, he had experience in the industry - he checked every box.And yet, the board was circling, and circling, and circling. They just werent comfortable, and the lead director finally said, Elena, I get it. Hes been really successful. But hes just such anintrovert. This is a global business - how is this person going to lead the troops? Frankly, after all the work that you, Susan, have done, to think that people at the very top are leise worried about introversion is really striking.In our r esearch, when we looked at the results that leaders deliver, introverted leaders were not any less successful than the extroverts once they got the job. Now, getting the job is easier for a charismatic, easily-connecting individual. But when you look at who actually delivers results, introverts were even slightly overrepresented at the very top of performance. The facts flew in the face of convention.The other piece is that I ask folks, What do you picture when you think of someone who will eventually become a CEO? Many of us think of that kid in high school who was voted Most Likely to Succeed, or that annoying person in a group meeting who takes charge and finds themselves at the whiteboard.Well, weve interviewed thousands of CEOs, and while about 30% of them set a goal for becoming a CEO fairly early in life, 70% had no idea what they wanted to be when they grew up. They showed up to work every day, they practiced the behaviors that we later discovered were really instrumental to success, and only when they got within earshot of the CEO role did this aspiration become relevant for them.I often hear women in particular saying, Gosh, I dont know if Im cut out to be CEO. Well, 70% of the CEOs out there actually didnt know they were cut out to be CEO until they got really, really close to the role.This article first appeared on Heleo.

The Top Secret Truth on Medical Assistant Resume Samples Uncovered

The Top Secret Truth on Medical Assistant Resume Samples Untitelbilded Writing a resume can be an extremely tough task. Writing an excellent objective requires the comprehension of what the employer wants from the assistant they wish to employ. Be sure to concentrate on skills related specifically to the job that youre applying for. Correctly written resumes will fetch them of the correct jobs. The Unexpected Truth About Medical Assistant Resume Samples Since medical assisting is such a skill-oriented profession, you have to make certain that your resume highlights your abilities and the way they will turn you into a valuable employee. Doctors amtsstubes always require help. There are many different kinds of healthcare assistants. They are in demand, but that doesnt mean it will be easy to land a job. Show that youre eager to learn new things that would benefit your businesss need. There are different mistakes to avoid also. Furthermore, strong problem solving skills a re vital in an ever changing medical atmosphere. There are just a few things more disappointing than not securing the job which you like. Medical Assistant Resume Samples - Overview Table of Contents Click the subsequent image to see the subsequent samples. You can also see Resume Examples. Resume templates ought to be utilised as guides to help you produce a resume that highlights your special mixture of experience, skills and abilities. For templates to be applied by physicians, you might also want to check out Doctor Resume Template. After you have come to be a certified medical assistant, the next step to have the job in the exact same field requires you to understand how to compose a health assistant resume. When you have completed your training to be a medical assistant, its the right time to discover your dream job. Simply take the time to consider which ones which you possess and therefore, should mention. You could also call the office and attempt to learn that m anner. Whats more, you must incorporate the experience you have gained by working on projects that are outside the normal medical assistant duties. As you start searching for jobs as a medical assistant, bear in mind that success is dependent on your capacity to research. Medical assistants are a valuable part of the health care industry as they provide essential support within healthcare facilities. They provide much needed medical care to patients in the outpatient setting, such as clinics and doctors offices. They are vital to efficient and successful patient care. They have different responsibilities that dont require the same training as medical billing and coding does. You would be liable for clinical in addition to administrative tasks in the medical institution. Ophthalmic medical assistants might also be needed to aid ophthalmologists during surgical procedures. The majority of the expert healthcare centers are extremely careful on screening the correct candidates. In the medical and healthcare professions, its very important to keep accurate and thorough patient records. Medical Assistant Resume Samples Options Medical assistant is someone who perform clinical along with administrative tasks to support the health assistant cover letter template. For that a fantastic medical assistant resume template is extremely valuable. Hence, make sure you make necessary changes if youre using the exact same medical assistant resume example. The medical receptionist cover letter examples are by and large written on an extensive basis, and must be customized for improved effectiveness and creating the. What to Expect From Medical Assistant Resume Samples? For more guidance, hints, and ideas study the health assistant resume example. As a way to compose a professional medical assistant resume, you must incorporate all appropriate info about your skills, education and a quick description of your personality. If you believe that this sort of part of information concerning the medical assistant resume examples ought to be shard then be our guest and share it on various social networking channels. No matter your experience, the info will be beneficial for anybody seeking to begin creating a strong application that will land interviews in virtually no time.