How to Show an Employer You Have Added Value at Work

How to Show an Employer You Have Added Value at WorkHow to Show an Employer You Have Added Value at WorkOne of the most important things you can do during a job search is show the hiring manager what you can bring to the company. Employers look for candidates who will add value to their organization, and one of the hiring managers goals is to make sure the people they hire are top performers who will succeed in the position. You can make it easier for them by showing youre very well qualified for the job. Your resume, titelbild letter, and other job materials can demonstrate how you have added value in your previous positions. If youre selected for an interview, share examples of your accomplishments to demonstrate how you would be the perfect pick for the role. Tip By clearly showing the ways you succeeded in previous positions, you will help employers see why you would be a valuable employee. How to Show a Prospective Employer Your Value Define success in your previous position s. Before even writing about job performance, think about how success was measured in your prior roles. If you worked in sales, success might have been measured by the number of clients you had. If you were a teacher, your success could have been measured in part by your students grades and test scores. Make sure you know what success looked like in each position youve held. Make a list of ways you have achieved success. Once you have defined success in your previous jobs, make a list of times you went above and beyond to deliver it. For example, you might note a month when you acquired a number of new clients, or a time when your students test scores improved significantly over the course of the year. Quantify that success. Once you have a list of accomplishments and achievements, think of ways to quantify that success. Numbers help hiring managers see precisely how youve added value to a company. These numbers do not have to relate to profitability. Instead, they might refer to ti me saved, costs reduced, or processes improved. For example, if you are an administrative assistant, you might explain that you transitioned your office to an e-file system that saved the company about $1,000 per year in paper goods. Make a list of awards youve received. Mentioning any awards or other forms of recognition you received at work also shows that your employer recognized your importance to the company. Use value-related keywords. Use active verbs and other keywords in your resume and cover letter that help to show how you added value while at your previous companies. Some words you might use include Achieved/nominated/wonCreatedDecreased/increasedDevelopedGeneratedImprovedLaunchedRevenue/profitsSavedUnder budget When and How to Mention Your Value Highlight Your Achievements in Your Resume In the work history section of your resume, dont simply list your duties for each previous job. Instead, include examples of how you added value to each company. One way to do that is to use bullet points to highlight your accomplishments in each role. You can highlight some of your most significant value-adding examples in your resume summary, if you have one. For example, an editor might write a resume summary that says, Freelance editor with 10 years experience revising articles, essays, and books. Edits an average of 200 pages per week for dozens of award-winning authors and journals. This resume summary quantifies the editors success in terms of her ability to handle a high volume of pages and a number of clients. It also highlights her experience with quality writing. Share a Story in Your Cover Letter In your cover letter, highlight two or three skills or abilities that demonstrate how you are the right fit for the job. For each skill, mention a time you used it to achieve success for your company. For example, you could say that you are a teacher who has strong classroom management skills. You could specify you manage classrooms of up to 35 students an d you have won three teaching awards for your effective classroom management. Tip By quantifying your success and emphasizing your awards, you will show employers that your previous organization valued you. During a Job Interview In your interview, you might get a specific question, such as Tell us how you have added value at your previous jobs. If you do, share examples of successes from the list you created before the interview. You can also mention how youve added value when answering other interview questions. For example, if you are pursuing a job as a hostess and the interviewer asks whether or not you can handle stress at work, you could mention the average number of people you seated on weeknights and weekends at your previous hostessing job. This will show the employer you can manage a busy restaurant environment. Examples of How to Show Youve Added Value Use ansicht samples for inspiration when writing your resume and cover letter and when preparing for an interview. S ample Employment History Section of a Resume WORK HISTORYSenior Event Coordinator, ABC Events, Boston, MA 2017-PresentPlanned and executed over 125 events, including corporate retreats, fundraisers, and workshops for groups of up to 300 participants.Managed event budgets of up to $50,000, completing events under budget 100% of the time.Received an average of 4.81 out of 5 stars from clients.Wedding Planner Assistant Coordinator, Claire Smith Weddings, Hartford, CT 2015-2017Co-planned and co-executed over 25 weddings with parties of up to 250 people.Responsible for managing relationships with over 20 vendors across the greater New England area.Managed budgets of up to $100,000.Promoted from assistant to assistant coordinator due to my excellent budgeting and organizational skills. Expand? Sample Paragraph from a Cover Letter You state in the job description you want a bartender with extensive experience in a fast-paced environment. I am extremely comfortable and familiar with working in large, busy restaurants. As a hostess at ABC Restaurant for three years, I sat an average of 300 tables per day. When I transitioned to runner and then bartender at XYZ Bar and Taproom, I served 200-400 customers on weekend nights. My supervisor once awarded me Employee of the Month because of my ability to handle the pressures of a busy work environment. Expand Sample Response to an Interview Question The following is an example of a response to the interview question, Why should we hire you? I have a lot of familiarity working in a startup environment such as yours. I enjoy the opportunity to be innovative and creative, which a startup provides. You said in the job listing you want an innovative thinker who can use creativity to increase efficiency. This is the kind of work I love to do. For example, in my previous position as director of operations, staff members were often late for meetings. I realized one solution was to create a more efficient scheduling system for meet ings. I switched our office to a new scheduling system that reduced missed meetings and errors in room assignments by 20%. I also offered three training courses in the new system so that there was little bentzer error, even in the first week of using the system. Expand

3 Reasons Youre Not Getting Hired

3 Reasons Youre Not Getting Hired3 Reasons Youre Not Getting HiredSending out lots ofrsums with no responses? Or perhaps youre getting einstellungsgesprchs, but not the job? While it may feel like youre doing everything in your power to land a new job, if yourehaving trouble closing the deal, its time for another look. There are probably obvious reasons why youre not getting the job, and they need to be taken into consideration 1. You dont have any connections. Connections are essential to getting a job, often allowing you to beipass writing arsum, cover letter and the application process altogether.Connections make the entire job search easier. But if youre not getting a job, take a look at who knows you and what you do. You may not have any helpful connections to get you in the door because you dont network, or because you just havent put yourself out there. Folks cant help you if they dont know what you need. If you dont use your connections, another candidate will be put at the f ront of the linea candidate who used their connections. To start building your connection network, start letting friends or family membersknowwhat type of job you want, and see if they know of anyone who may be able to help. If you dont feel your friend or family network is strong enough, start the networking process by going to an event or meetup in your desired industry. Chat up those around you, and make sure to grab geschftsleben cards and follow up after. Invite your new contacts to coffee (on you), and start building those relationships. Youve probably heard this advice before, but have you done it?2. Youre bad at selling yourself. Your cover letter andrsumare dry and terrible. You dont sound like yourself at all. Or maybe those documents are far too short or too long. Lets face it Yourefloundering, and youre just plain bad at talking about yourself. But if youre bad at selling yourself, youll never make it into the pile of to interviewrsums. Selling yourself isnt a bad th ing it mostly just takes preparation. First, keep a document of accomplishments. Then when you create your cover letter andrsum,highlight those results, rather than list what you didday to day in past positions. Stayconfident in your tone, from paper to in person, and continue to describe the results you can bring to the position during your interview as well. 3. Youre not conversational. If you make it to the interview, but dont get the job, consider your interview style. Beyond discussing why youre perfect for the job and highlighting your skills and results in past positions, youll want to be conversational. Why? Employers want to like you. Likeable people are the best kinds of people to work with. So turn up the charm and enthusiasm. Show that not only are you fully competent, but youll be interested in your job and get along with your manager and colleagues. Dont be overeager, but make sure to express your passion and commitment. Part of being likable is listening attentively and responding appropriately. Ask questions, and be interested beyond what youve rehearsed in your interview prep. Remember, you are interviewing the employer as much as they are interviewing you. Relax, take a deep breath and just be your amazing, normal self. When youre not getting the job, its tough to stomach. But by taking a hard look at your job search process, you can ensure that you get further than ever before. By making changes in your network, your sales and your conversational skills, youll get past thersumstage, past the first and second interviews and into your very own corner office.Rebecca Healyis the founder ofKontrary, a different take on money and happiness that helps you take control of your work and life. She lives in Washington, DC.

4 steps to deescalate the drama from mean people

4 steps to deescalate the drama from mean people4 steps to deescalate the drama from mean peopleIt happens a lot at work and in life. You get drawn into a dispute wherbeie after a few minutes you find yourself defending a lage you never took. Or people come to you to mediate a situation that does not warrant your involvement. Or you find yourself doing things for someone out of duty not honor. I could write volumes on what motivates people to behave this way but thats not important. These are boundary issues. The bottom line is when others dont have them you must create them for yourself.Understand boundariesA boundary is simply an imaginary line between what you will and will not allow. You cant change someone elses behavior. They are on their own journey. If you sense someone is being a victim for attention or notice they are triangulating others against you for personal reasons there is nothing you can do about their behavior. The best thing you can do is to quickly create a posit ion and stick to it.Establish your homebase before you speakYour Homebase is your position no matter what curveball gets thrown your way. Dont play their game. You will not win if you are defending anything. You must be proactive to gain momentum. You must be the moving party. If you want to take the organization in a new direction dont defend against how business is just fine now without the change. Segue back to your Homebase. Hurl back questions asking them what they will do when the industry shifts and your speed to market will take too long to catch up. This takes planning. When conflict occurs in the moment you must think quickly. Pause, take a deep breath and ask yourself, What is my Homebase? Why this? Why now?Always trust your gutWhen you cant decide what your Homebase is that is a signal that something is out of alignment. Trust your gut. Your mind might be too analytical and your heart too emotional. Step back and allow for a broader view. Rely on your intuition. The deci sion may not even be yours to make. Who else should be involved?Clear boundaries establish trustYour team will respect you for your boundaries because they will know where they stand. Consistency is key. They should know if they come to you complaining about another employee you will first ask, Have you spoken with him about this? What do you think his perspective is? If they complain about not having enough time to do something new you will say, I trust your advice. What do you think we can stop doing to make time? If your daughter tells you that you are the only parent who wont let their child go on a ski weekend without adult supervision she should expect that you will say, Im comfortable with that. Im the only one who is your parent.MaryLeeGannon, ACC, CAEis an executive coach and corporate CEO who helps busy leaders get off the treadmill to nowhere to be more effective, earn more, bemore calm and enjoyconnected relationships with the people who matter while it still matters.Wat ch her FREE Master Class training on Three Things to Transform Your Life and Career Right Now atwww.MaryLeeGannon.com.