5 signs that your resume is holding you back

5 signs that your resume is holding you back 5 signs that your resume is holding you back When youre searching for a job, elendhing is more frustrating than sending out scores of resumes for jobs you know youre qualified for but bedrngnis getting any interviews. If thats happening to you, the explanation might be your resume is holding you back in some way.Of course, in a tight job market like this one, its can be hard to know if the issue is simply the market and the amount of competition thats there, or whether your resume itself is putting you at a disadvantage. But there are flags that indicate that your resume is probably the problem. Here are five of the biggest.1. Youre applying for plenty of jobs where you match the listed qualifications, but you arent getting interviews.Most people, even the exceptionally well-qualified, dont get interviews for every job they apply for. But if youre applying for dozens of jobs a month jobs for which you truly do meet the qualifications and never hearing anything back, chances are good that your application materials are responsible. Your resume probably isnt going to get you interviews at even half the jobs you apply to. But if its not even scoring you a success rate of one in ten, that tells you that you need to revisit what youre sending out.2. You feel like youre a much more valuable worker than your resume reflects.Many peoplethink to themselves, If I could only get to an interview, theyd see what a great fit I am. But if you feel that way, your resume isnt doing its job. If youre a great employee someone with a track record of achieving at a high level in past jobs its your resumes job to show that. If its not, you need to do rewrite until your resume reflects why an employer should be excited to talk to you.A common response to this is, But the type of work I do is hard to convey on a resume. But being a valuable employee is about getting results for your employer, and theres always a way to describe that on a resume. It doesnt have to be as quantitative as increased sales by 20% or promoted twice in two years (although those are great accomplishments to include if theyre true). Instead, it might be something more like became the departments go-to source for quickly and accurately resolving billing discrepancies or built a reputation for working successfully with previously unhappy clients or resolved an inherited four-month backlog in three weeks. Whatever it was that made you excellent at your work, thats what your resume needs to convey otherwise, it wont open many doors for you.3. If you imagine the resume of someone with a similar work history but who has done mediocre work, its not that different from your own.Your resume shouldnt just list what activities you engaged in at each job, but rather should convey how well you did them. Hiring managers arent likely to be especially impressed by your job descriptions what they care about is whether you excelled in the role. If your resum e doesnt convey that you were better than that other guy who had a similar job, theres nothing to make an employer think that youre the one worth interviewing. The way you address this is by focusing your resume on what you achieved in each role and how you excelled, not just a list of duties.4. Its three or more pages.Job seekers with long resumes regularly protest that they cant possibly fit their full job history on to two pages. But highly qualified, very senior candidates regularly manage to do that (some even sticking to one page), so if you exceed two, most hiring managers will see you as someone who cant edit, doesnt understand what information is most important, and doesnt respect their time. Are you really willing to accept that outcome just so that you dont need to trim down your text?5. When you do get interviews, interviewers seem surprised by some of the information you give them during the interview.If your interviewer seems pleasantly surprised by a work achievement or other qualification that comes up in the interview, it might be something that should have been on your resume in the first place. Similarly, if your interviewer seems disappointed to learn that, say, your last job was only a few hours a week or lasted only a few months, thats a flag that your resume might need to be clearer. (You might wonder why you should be clearer about things that might get you disqualified, but otherwise you risk wasting your time interviewing for jobs where youre not a strong candidate and dont have much chance of being hired.)

Simple productivity hacks to immediately become more effective

Simple productivity hacks to immediately become more effectiveSimple productivity hacks to immediately become more effectivePerhaps you find yourself continually challenged to meet escalating expectations and do more with less. Or maybe you aspire to a life centered around a three-day or 25-hour work week. Or, you may just feel like youre slogging through each day, accomplishing less than whats possible and desirable.If youre like most Americans, you want to be more productive. In fact, research conducted by Crucial.com suggests 80% of us want to be more effective - and even identified the dynamic of efficiency envyin one of three subjects who admitted that efficient people make them jealous. Productivity advice abounds in the gestalt of books, courses, podcasts and more.But, lets face it Long-held habits are hard to change, especially given the stress and speed of business. Whats necessary are straightforward, doable strategies that simplify your day and transform potential into pr oductive outputs. Strategies likeBuy into your biorhythmMuch of the advice about productivity centers on when to do what. Whether its eating frogs and veggies first to make the rest of the day easier, stepping away at noon no matter what or leaving mindless tasks for late in the day, these are generic suggestions that may or may not meet an individuals unique needs.Instead, carefully evaluate your personal energy ordnungsprinzip. When are you clearest, quickest, most curious, less energized? Lean into your biorhythm and leverage your own personal highs and lows to construct a schedule that aligns activities with the energy youre capable of deploying at any given time.Diminish decision-makingDecision-making is central to many workplace roles. Its also a highly demanding activity that requires considerable mental energy and can compromise productivity. As a result, its critical to preserve cognitive resources for the decisions that directly drive outcomes and results. This means reduc ing the volume of less valuable or impactful decision making. (Think Steve Jobs uniform, where no unnecessary mental processes were deployed on wardrobe choices.)Beyond pre-planning what to wear, consider pre-planning your day the night before. Spend a few minutes to flesh out your calendar beyond pre-arranged meetings to include the actual work youll do, hour by hour. Schedule in specific time to address email, respond to phone calls and even work through projects and stress over problems. Then, dont think about it again. Trust your previous nights self and obediently follow your plan. Youll be amazed at the mental resources that are freed up for higher value work.Master mono-taskingMultitasking has been proven to be a fantasy. The brain is incapable of doing two things at one time its simply switching very quickly among tasks. And when the tasks are cognitive in nature, multitasking actually results in outputs reflective of a lower IQ. But, in todays technology-flooded, distractio n-inducing environment, focusing on just one thing at a time can be among our greatest challenges. A few easy behaviors that might help includeSetting a timer for 25 minutes, making a deal with yourself that youll stay on task just for that period of time. Then, take a break.Silence all notifications. The pings and dings are seductive distractions that fool us into feeling like were accomplishing something.Hide your inbox. An onslaught of new messages can trigger a threat response. Living out of our inboxes can trick us into feeling virtuous and highly customer-focused. But, in reality, were simply enjoying the short-term gratification of checking something easy or urgent off the list at the expense of addressing more important issues.Catch your breathAn oxygen break may be even more effective than coffee to improve your productivity. Pausing each hour for just a minute or two to take five or six deep, cleansing breaths nourishes the brain, energizes the body, settles the nervous sy stem and offers a reset for the next phase of work to be done.Sit strategicallyPerhaps our school teachers had it right when they placed students in specific spots around the classroom.Recent researchsuggests that seating productive workers near others who tend toward quality versus quantity can boost organizational performance by as much as 15%. So, considering who you associate with and making a simple move toward high-performing hard workers might be your best productivity strategy.Reflect, recognize, refineAnd finally, conclude each day with intentional reflection. Create a done list before crafting tomorrows do list. This offers multiple benefits. It allows you to evaluate your results, determine whats working and whats not, and recalibrate your efforts. But, equally importantly, it provides a chance to celebrate whats been accomplished.And even if you havent yet reached the finish line, you can soak up the effects of yourprogress, which Theresa Amabile of Harvard has found to unlock motivation, engagement and satisfaction at work.Julie Winkle Giulioniworks with organizations worldwide to improve performance through leadership and learning. Named one of Inc. Magazines top 100 leadership speakers, Julie is the co-author of the Amazon and Washington Post bestseller,Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go Career Conversations Employees Want,a respected speaker on a variety of topics, and a regular contributor to many business publications.This article first appeared on SmartBrief.

Careers in Brokerage Operations

Careers in Brokerage OperationsCareers in Brokerage OperationsBrokerage operations personnel, sometimes also called brokerage clerks, ensure accurate record keeping within the securities industry. Automation continues to reduce the overall need for staff in this area, and the remaining positions are less concerned with manual processes for recording data and more focused on monitoring computerized record keeping systems. According to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), total employment of brokerage clerks was roughly 60,000 in May 2013, versus 190,000 in 1990. Of the 2013 figure, about 38,000 were employed in securities brokerage firms, and the rest in other types of financial services companies. Despite the longtime decline in brokerage operations jobs, the BLS projects 4% annual growth in employment over the next several years. Education Normally, a bachelors degree is sufficient. Ahigh school diploma used to bethe top educational attainment of the vast majority of br okerage clerksbut rarely is so today. Certification Formal certifications usually are not required. However, for some brokerage operations positions, a FINRA certification such as a Series 7 license may be preferred. If the operations clerk is expected to have direct contact with clients, being registered allows greater latitude in what this person may discuss with clients. Duties and Responsibilities Per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are five principal categories of brokerage operations personnel. Depending on the firm, a specific position may combine the duties of more than one of these. Purchase and sale clerks ensure that securities trades result in the appropriate movement of securities positions between financial services firms and client accounts.Dividend clerks ensure that dividends (and interest) are collected when due and credited to the proper account, whether belonging to a client or to the firm itself.Transfer clerks execute changes in the registration o f securities certificates. Staffing in this field is in serious decline, as the use of paper certificates has plummeted. Receive and deliver clerks handle the movement of securities certificates among securities firms. This is another field in decline as physical certificates become obsolete.Margin clerks track clients compliance with the terms and conditions of margin loans (that is, loans to finance purchases of securities). Typical Schedule Brokerage operations personnel normally have a standard 40 hour work week. However, during periods of exceptionally high trading volume, overtime may be required. Whats to Like Experience in brokerage operations can be excellent training in the intricacies of various security types and of the financial services industry as a whole. Registered brokerage operations personnel hold the essential credential, a Series 7 license, necessary for becoming a financial advisor if they wish to take this route. Whats Not to Like Many jobs in bro kerage operations can be repetitive and rote. In times of high trading volume, keeping up with the work can be taxing. Salary Range Per the Occupational Employment Statisticspublished by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, zentralwert annual compensation for brokerageclerks was about $45,450 as of May 2013, a 7% increase from the figure of $42,440 reported forMay 2012. The top 10% were earningover $69,730 in May 2013.