The 5 Qualities of a Toxic Worker

The 5 Qualities of a Toxic Worker Looking at your workforce, does everyone have a positive energy and get along well with each other? Or is there one particular individual who just makes life unnecessarily difficult and creates a negative atmosphere when they are around? If the latter is the case, it sounds like you may have a toxic employee on your hands. If the reason behind the behaviour is that the individual is unhappy in their job, then you may be able to resolve the issues; however if you fail to deal with the toxic worker, it could have negative consequences for the business. Whether they  spread office gossip, or are  constantly complaining about work, these behaviours can bring the team morale down. Here are a few of the most common qualities of a toxic employee, that you may want to keep an eye out for: 1) Theyre over-confident: A toxic worker tends to over-rate their own abilities and skills and believe they are better at their job than those around them. Their arrogance and know-it-all attitude can make it difficult to work with them in a team and can cause conflict to arise, due to a lack of cooperation. 2) Theyre self-centred: A toxic worker cares more about their own well-being and success than anyone elses and are likely to put them selves first whenever possible. They are unlikely to help others when they need assistance and will only go beyond their role if it is going to benefit them directly. Though this is sometimes an ego thing, sometimes the individual is just entirely oblivious to the impact they have on others. 3) Theyre always complaining: Toxic  workers are often negative in the workplace because they are unhappy in their job. For this reason its common for them to complain about work to just about anyone who will listen, whether the issues are  to do with their workload, their manager, customers/clients, or something else work related. Theyll often try to get others on board and plant the seed in their minds that there are problems in the workplace and bring the mood down in general. 4) They use unethical methods to get ahead: Toxic workers can play malicious games in order to get ahead. They will often go behind another employees back, or sabotage anothers success in order for personal gain or acknowledgement from management. Some examples of this could be by taking credit for somebody elses work, or flagging up other peoples mistakes, in order to make themselves look better. 5) They are dead-set on following the rules: Abiding by the workplace rules and regulations may sound like a positive quality for an employee to possess, however research has found that the more adamant an individual is that rules should be stuck to at all times, the more likely they are to be fired for breaking the rules. Ironic! [Image Credit: Shutterstock]

Choosing the Best Resume Writing Services in Chicago

Choosing the Best Resume Writing Services in ChicagoThe resume that you create in Chicago should be precise and well crafted. In order to do this, you will need the assistance of an experienced resume writer. When looking for the best resume writing services in Chicago, you will want to make sure that you work with a professional that will work with you one on one to create a resume that you will be proud of.Before working with a resume writer, make sure that you research them thoroughly. Check the previous clients that they have helped with to see if they received good results. There are many different factors that go into creating a great resume and when you do not find a recommendation from a previous client, it is a red flag that there is something to be concerned about.The city boasts of having the world's most reputable writers. They can help you in a number of ways. A talented writer will create a resume that will set you apart from the rest of the crowd and boost your confide nce.If you choose to use a paper resume, you can rest assured that you will have an easy time putting together. Since the paper is standard, you will not have to worry about making changes to your resume. Instead, you can sit down and start putting together your personal statement.An experienced professional resume writer will understand the many nuances of the job you are applying for. Not only will you need to present your skills in detail, but you will also have to show your experience in a number of different fields. By creating a resume that takes all of these elements into consideration, you will have a much better chance of getting hired.Another important factor to consider is how well your resume was worded. For example, you can send in a resume that has a very general, misleading title and have it appear just as professional as one that is a little more specific. That is why the writing skills of the writer are so important.Next, if you are looking for a writer that can pro vide the type of letter that you will be sending out, you will want to look at the number of letters they have already written for other people. This can indicate that they have a good track record with clients. If you need to contact the company before you contact them, try to call or email them at least three times to get an idea of their ability.You will find that the best services in Chicago are all about the service that they offer. They offer a wide variety of services that you will benefit from. Whether you need a resume that will draw attention to your strengths, or whether you need a letter that can help you get a job interview, you will be able to find what you need in the best resume writing services in Chicago.

13 Ways to Upgrade Modernize a Home Office

13 Ways to Upgrade Modernize a Home Office The home office hasn’t changed much over the last few decades because we often create mirror images of the offices we’re accustomed to at our day jobs. The desk, lamp, bookshelf, and filing cabinet are all staples of home office furniture but there’s so much more that can be done to give this area of business a modern day look. Here are thirteen different ways you can go about doing just that: Maximize Space Consider purchasing storage bins or collapsible furniture which can fit into the odd spaces to get the most of our office space. Fresh Paint â€" White walls can feel too clinical, especially if you’re working in the office for long hours of the day so try a different color for a change to liven the area. Digitize the Hard Copy â€" Ditch the filing cabinet and opt for a scanner and online service which transcribes a document and stores it online. This saves on space and and makes it easily accessible with a few searches rather than digging through folder after folder. Add a Couch or Day Bed â€" Long hours in front of the computer can do a number on your back; a small couch or day bed could possibly fit in there so you can take your breaks laying down and relaxing (also great for quick power naps). Add Plants â€" Plants are great for decoration, making the place look/feel natural, and for cleaning the stale air in the office. For about $20 $30 you can get a few plants for the office that are easy to maintain and look great. Glass Whiteboards. Ditch the chalkboards and dry erase boards in place of a glass whiteboard. These are great because can be customized in any color (on the back) and they’re extremely easy to clean even if you use permanent marker! Add Utility to the Desk â€" Tired of the power strips tucked behind the desk? Consider screwing them underneath. The same goes for USB extensions and other computer utilities which will make it easier to access. Raise It Up â€" Use stands and wall mounts for monitors and speakers for your setup so you’re not stuck staring down at the screen or having your sounds distorted from being in an odd location. This will also give the workspace a clean, sleek look since it’s not all piled on the desk. Hang some Pictures Liven up the area by hanging pictures that inspire you around the office instead of having blank walls. If you can’t find something in stores then pick up some photo paper frames and make some of your own. Try Standing Back feeling worn out from sitting all day? Consider switching to a standing desk instead. Standing desks have many health benefits and they’re quite easy to adjust to after a few days. Add a Partition â€" If you’re sharing a home office with someone else (perhaps your spouse?) and need a little privacy then you could opt for a screen partition which can be pulled out and put back during those intense moments at work when it requires your full concentration. Mount a TV Your home office doesn’t need to be only about work. Of course you need down time. Consider mounting a TV to the wall and hooking up an HDMI cable from the computer. You now can kick back and watch television during your breaks on the big screen. Go Remote â€" Who said you even need to be stuck at the home office all the time in the first place? If you’re in the position where you have one you’re also in the position to move around as you please so take advantage of the flexibility. Install remote desktop software on the main computer and use your laptop to connect to it while you’re sitting on the patio or when you’re off on vacation! Not sure where to start with the home office? Try looking through these inspirational ideas on Pinterest and then start putting together a wish list of items. Once you’re settled on the idea take a weekend to upgrade and modernize the area. It’ll breathe fresh life into the place which will spill over to your work through excitement and change. Images from  Freedigitalphotos by  Vichaya Kiatying-Angsulee

4 Easy Employer Branding Updates You MUST Make

4 Easy Employer Branding Updates You MUST Make Talent acquisition strategies and processes have a tendency to outlive their usefulness. This is particularly true in the revived war for talent. Many companies are still operating out of their recession “crisis” mode and have not fully realized that it’s time to reinvent themselves to candidates and current employees. It’s never a good time to rip the Band-aid off and change, especially if what you are doing still seems to be working. But the danger with this tendency is that the longer you wait the further behind you fall. In the meantime, your competitors get ahead. What can you do to update your employment brand? How can you demonstrate why your company is the best place to work today? Here are four easy, often overlooked updates that can create a big impact in a short amount of time they also require minimal buy-in and so are easier wins: 1)  Update your career website: This is the first impression you make. It needs to be up-to-date aesthetically, functionally, and in content. Today’s candidates have short attention spans and demand easy access â€" when they don’t get it, they click on the next search result.  Your site needs to engage viewers within the first three seconds to keep them from clicking off the page. You need to look like a 21st  century employer, speak to candidates as real human beings, demonstrate that you care about their success, and build a case for why they should choose you as the best place to invest their careers. Action steps: Feature real employees in videos to demonstrate your culture. Talk about career paths and trajectories â€" what their career could look like down the road. Create job-specific microsites to address specific candidate populations. Make it insanely easy to join your talent community and stress a clear value proposition for what they will get in return â€" job postings, career insights, invitations to company recruiting events, etc. 2) Consistently leverage social media: Go where your ideal candidates are in the social world. Find the niche sites, blogs, discussions, and forums that they participate in and engage as an active voice in those communities.  You cannot afford to have a reactive mindset. You must go out and connect with candidates who are not actively looking at you as a prospective employer. People are open to being actively recruited where they live and play, and they value employers who maintain a current, active presence in the online conversations that matter to them. Action steps: Dedicate resources to maintain a steady presence on social media. Create a well-thought out content strategy to regularly post content that offers value to your audience. Be personable, respectful, and honest. Candidates know that every company has pros and cons â€" if you are not open to discussing the challenges they can read about on company review sites like Glassdoor.com, they will not take you seriously. 3)  Update your hiring programs: Most companies have intern programs, diversity initiatives, veteran hiring programs, and other specialized initiatives unfortunately, these are often neglected and outdated. With careful examination, you can revamp and revive them to appeal to the current generation of candidates who are seeking these programs. Student employees are the future bench of your company, but most students have a tough time “breaking in” to jobs that provide the experience they need to build their careers. If you can make “breaking in” incredibly easy and appealing at your company, you will quickly become the employer of choice for young talent. Likewise, veterans are an under-tapped pool of talent â€" most need help remapping their military training to civilian skillsets. If you can make this process easy, clear, and provide the orientation/mentoring needed to adjust to a civilian workforce, you can draw on a strong pool of dedicated talent. Action steps: Look at your current programs. How are they outdated? What changes would make them appealing? If you don’t know, seek guidance from external resources. Brand your company as the “employer of choice” for the specific talent demographic that you are targeting by creating an easy process that supports them. Actively engage in the communities these candidates frequent. Build trust by having current employees from these talent pools interact with potential hires. 4)  Automate and simplify: Even with today’s technologies, many companies cling to outdated processes because change is costly and perceived as too disruptive. Purposefully look for areas where your processes can be automated and simplified. This saves you time and money, and also helps your company build its “We’re a 21st  Century Employer” brand by utilizing current technologies. Action steps: Ask employees for their input. What would make their work easier? What currently takes too much time? Are you using old school spreadsheets? What could be moved online? Where can you cut out steps without impacting the integrity of the process? What small changes would improve the hiring experience for candidates and hiring managers? It may seem daunting at first, but taking the time today to update your TA strategies and processes will help you stay at the forefront on the war on talent. With competition as it is, you can’t afford to be left behind. Author: James Holt is Business Development Manager of RPO Services at Seven Step RPO,  a recruitment process outsourcing firm based in Boston, MA and Denver, CO.

How to Write a Strong Resume

How to Write a Strong ResumeSometimes, I have a difficulty writing a strong resume. It's not that I have a difficulty writing coherent sentences; I just struggle to determine what the main point of the paragraph is, and therefore don't know what to keep and what to take out. Instead of writing a strong resume I always have to guess which sections are most important and want to keep, and which sections are simply unnecessary and need to be taken out. This creates a great deal of wasted paper and a poor impression of my skills and experience.Of course, sometimes I also need to cut down on my vocabulary. After all, writing a strong resume is very different from writing an article - if I can't explain a concept in my own words then how will the reader understand it? Or how can I be understood by the employer? In order to create an effective resume that conveys exactly what I'm looking for the writer needs to know how to use words to their advantage.Fortunately, once you've learnt how to learn the basics of how to write a strong resume you should be able to do it with any job and get a good interview. The only thing you really need to remember is to try and tailor the content to the job you're applying for. As a sales representative for a car dealer for example, you would use words like 'training courses', 'supervisors 'students' to describe the job you're applying for rather than the words like 'training sessions 'therapy sessions'.Now that you understand the basics of how to write a strong resume, the next step is to develop your own style of writing. Writing a resume is something that all job applicants have to do - whether they've been working in sales for five years or if they're applying for a clerical position.However, the resume needs to look different from other resumes, so you need to think about how to make it stand out from the crowd. While some people put in regular, wordy words, others like to use abbreviations, acronyms and symbols. So think about how you can make your resume stand out.Also, when creating a strong resume you may find that you are forced to use words that have special meanings to you - words like 'dealt'completed' are good examples. When you want to make your resume look different to other applicants who aren't familiar with the industry or have no connection to it, use the special words and phrases in a way that you wouldn't normally use them.For example, a strong resume can be made up of the word 'experience' if you've had a lot of it, 'supervisor' if you're the supervisor of a lot of workers, or 'involving' if you're involving a lot of people and that's how the company works. The point is to make your resume unique, because it's only going to help you get a better job if you can demonstrate your strengths and weaknesses in an effective way.Finally, always be polite when presenting your strong resume to an employer, especially when they ask you to summarize it for them. They want to know that you are impressive and understand the importance of your skills and experience.

Twitter Chat Do You Participate

Twitter Chat Do You Participate Have you ever participated in a Twitter Chat session? What is a Twitter chat and why should you care? Its an online chat focused on the interests of a particular group.  This is what happens. The organizer/host announces a date and time and assigns a hashtag. Its almost like a networking event, but online. The hashtag  serves as the meeting location. Once the time arrives, the host  shares questions and anyone can share answers to the questions. The benefits include:   you see the thoughts and ideas from all sorts of people,  many who are experts in their field. Plus you meet new people who are participating in the chat along the way.   In one jam-packed hour, you can learn a ton. Its also a great way to expand your network. Where do you find Twitter Chats? There are hundreds of Twitter chats out there on almost any topic you can imagine. You may see people promoting an upcoming chat as a tweet. There are directories too. Tweet Reports  organizes the chats by industry and gives more insight into what each is about How do I follow along? You can try using Twitter to follow the Twitter chats hashtag, but that can be sort of cumbersome because you have to keep refreshing the content. tchat.io is a platform that allows you to follow the Twitter chat hashtag and participate. The trick is to use the hashtag in every post. If you forget, then the Twitter chat folks wont see your tweet. tchat.io will automatically add the hashtag to every tweet you send. Job Search And Career Twitter Chats #OMCchat Fridays at Noon ET (hosted by @LevyRecruits, @ProudMaryBoise @CyndyTrivella @TomBolt #InternPro Mondays at 8 pm  ET (hosted by @YouTern and the team!) More Twitter Chat Help Buffer wrote an excellent step by step resource about participating in Twitter chats. You can check that out here.  You can follow their Twitter chat searching for  #Bufferchat.

LinkedIn Industry Rankings - CareerEnlightenment.com

The final results looked like this:See How Your Industry Ranks HERE: see the full spreadsheet.  The Top 10 Industries On LinkedInInformation Technology and ServicesMarketing and AdvertisingHuman ResourcesComputer SoftwareFinancial ServicesStaffing and RecruitingInternetManagement ConsultingTelecommunicationsRetailThe Bottom 10 Industries On LinkedInDairyNanotechnologyShipbuildingJudiciaryAlternative Dispute ResolutionAnimationLegislative OfficeFisheryRailroad ManufactureRanchingWhat to Do With This InformationIf you are in a low ranking industry, dont despair. It doesnt mean your networking will be impossible, just more difficult. On the bright side, the lower population of people in that industry could equal more intimate conversations ,i.e. Hey, looks like theres not a lot of us in herelets stick together. If you are a manager or executive in a low ranking Industry, you can still network with other managers or CXOs, focusing on your role more than your field.If you are in a high ra nking industry, the pond is more like an oceanmore opportunities for sure, but also more competition. So play the game well. Have a good looking LinkedIn Profile. Know what to say when you reach out. And follow a repeatable strategy.