Is Social Media Sabotaging Your Job Search?

A study by career building experts found nearly 2 in 5 companies use social websites to research job candidates. Without a doubt, your online presence is a factor recruiters take into consideration during the screening process.

Think your online activity is private? Try a simple Google search for your name – what you find might reveal otherwise.

If you’re serious about landing the job you really want, follow these tips to make sure you’re sending the right message to your potential employer online.

1. Google yourself

Be sure to dig at least few pages deep. Pay close attention to all social channels, particularly those that have been inactive for a long period of time – like your Myspace profile from back in high school.

What should you be looking for? Keep an eye out for things like:

a. Inappropriate photos

b. Any type of negative/immature language or strong opinions, particularly about current or former employers

c. Poor grammar, spelling and curse words

d. Illegal activities

e. Inconsistencies that conflict with your resume

f. Association with “bad crowds” or extreme groups/associations

TIP: Use a tool like Google Alerts to automatically monitor and notify you when your name is mentioned online.

2. Review your privacy settings

Anything you post online can become public. Social media channels regularly change their privacy settings and websites can “scrape” the internet for information and make your photos and messages public. Many social media websites now offer the ability to view your profile as public so you can see what a potential employer would see.

3. Watch out for your friends’ postings

Although you might do your best to keep your personal life off the internet, your friends might not be so cautious when taking part in activities like tagging you in photos. Also be cautious when posting on public figure and business pages – where your comments will NOT be private on Facebook.

4. Be careful when leaving bad reviews

It’s okay to leave an honest negative review if you had a bad experience, but if you leave the review under your Google or Facebook account, keep in mind your review will be public – and attached to your name and profile. For this reason, be sure your review is free of spelling errors and poor grammar use. Also, try to keep your review professional. State your case, but avoid wild accusations and a general tendency to be too negative.

5. Watch out for associations that are too controversial

If you are associated with groups or associations that might be considered controversial, consider using a “pen name” for any public contributions to the group online.

The bottom line is this – before you post anything online, ask yourself…“Would I be embarrassed if a potential employer, parent or mentor viewed this?” If the answer is yes, either don’t post it or clean it up.

Remember, with more and more employers using the web as part of their regular screening process, their first impression might be your Facebook page – not the interview!

Is Your Online Reputation Clean, But You’re Still Struggling to Find Jobs in Karachi or in any other region?

At Staffing Support Specialists, we take extra steps to prepare you for the initial interview.

Helping people find a job FAST is what we do, day in and day out – and we know what recruiters are looking for. Through our resume services, we look over your existing resume or help you create a new one.

With our vote of confidence behind you, you’re no longer alone in your job search. But don’t take our word for it, see for yourself what others are saying about us…or view more testimonials to see what kind of results we deliver.

Marketing Jobs In Pakistan

There is a time of the year when the college students become graduates and they start looking for jobs in Pakistan. Some are interested in higher studies while the others want to have their own income. There are different kinds of jobs available these days.

One of the most common job openings is the marketing job openings. These kinds of jobs are available for internships, as summer jobs. It is good as an entry level job. But you should not think that it is easy to get these jobs.

After the tough period during recession getting any job has become a bit difficult. So if you are looking for the marketer job opportunities in Pakistan then make sure you are ready to go through a tough fight.

The competition has increased and there are more people who are searching for the marketing employment openings. If you have certain amount of work experience then you might have some benefits over the fresher. You must always remember that getting a job is marketing is not impossible but might be a bit difficult.

It is very important to make sure that you are fully prepared for the marketing job openings. There are certain tips which can help you land up a job in marketing. The first thing you need to find out before looking for the marketing career opportunities is the area of marketing which interests you more.

There are various fields where marketing is required. You can either choose advertising, product management, public relations, branding, traditional marketing or new or interactive marketing. Other than this you have other areas in marketing too.

You must always remember that all the positions present in the marketing employment opportunities might not suit you. The best way to find out the area is by performing a little bit of homework. You will surely be happy that you performed the homework because it is going to help you a lot.

Other than this, you must also be clear about the things you want. You need to find out which is the most important thing for you. You might give more importance to work experience than increasing the network connections, while somebody else might feel the other way.

So first decide the quality that you want to gain from the internship of the marketing job openings. You must also have a clear idea about marketing. You must start working in such a way that it helps you attract the attention of your employees and they are pleased with your work.

These tips will surely help you get one of the best marketer job opportunities in Pakistan. But the improvement in the job depends on how you work and how much you are ready to give.

Career management and its importance

Career management is a hot topic and I have seen a huge content written on its significance importance and advantages. After going through many articles I have analyzed that I have some more information which must be added to attain this positive results regarding career planning or management. In my personal opinion people who gain some experience of professional life give more importance to career management while freshers often don’t emphasize on career management. They simply apply for jobs in Pakistan, wait for results and start working on any job. They never think of it never realize what is the importance of career management, who and how it could be done? What results you can achieve or how career management will help you in your professional growth.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, to "manage" something means to handle or direct something with a degree of skill, to treat something with care, or to work upon or try to alter something for a purpose. Therefore, to effectively manage your career, you must skillfully direct your career with a purpose and with care.

A career that is started after completing proper plans and successfully managed has clear objective and move smoothly in preplanned directions. Many people focus or relay on career damages that are obvious to occur in professional life. I would say such people who do not take advantage of career management lose all time lavish money earning and self-satisfaction. Options and opportunities are assessed according to whether they are likely to move the career toward the vision.

On the other side, a career if the career is not planned or mismanaged tends to meander or may cause various problems when you really need to focus on your job. There are many people who just go on for jobs in Pakistan without even knowing work strategies, working responsibilities and other duties of jobs. They though join jobs but when they forced to accomplish tasks that are hectic for them they try to change job and career or get offended. To avoid such circumstances it is better to plan and manage your career before joining any job.

Sometimes people think they do not have to manage their careers because their company will do it for them, but this is attitude can be self-defeating. You are your own best advocate. Do not relegate your advocacy, support, and best interest to anyone else. Take control, and make a commitment to yourself to be your own supporter and promoter.

Career management is not something you suddenly achieve, or a point where you say "I'm done!" It is part of the journey through life and work, something you do continually to ensure your career and life reflects and honors your strengths and who you are.

To effectively manage your career, you'll first need to do some basic career planning: clarifying your vision of your career into the future, and identifying what skill gaps or other obstacles may be standing in your way. You will want to set some goals and milestones so you can track your progress.

Next, consider your personal brand at work. Does how you're perceived in the office accurately reflect your strengths, value, and career aspirations? Take a look at what you're known for, your physical appearance, the projects you're working on, and when people ask for your advice and assistance. If these are in line with where you're going, great. If not, it's time for a personal brand make-over. These can take time, as you'll need to pay attention to how you act, what you say, what you work on, and how you look over a period of time, and adjust as needed.

Finally, constantly be on the lookout for opportunities to grow in line with your career vision. While this includes promotions and job openings, also consider volunteering for projects or teams where you can gain additional critical skill sets, become known as an expert in an area aligned with your vision and interests, or gain you exposure with people who can help you in your career. Find a mentor within (or even external to) your organization and solicit their advice and knowledge regularly. Consider taking courses or getting certified if these actions are applicable to your situation.

Remember that career management is an ongoing process, and should be regularly reviewed, measured, and adjusted. Make it a priority, and direct your career with skill, purpose and care.

What questions should be asked from a job candidate

People who have an experience of appearing in a job interview must be aware of the questions that employers usually ask. Most of the time they are related to personal skills that a person has, his past experience and some details that are needed to be considered while offering the job.

Mostly the employers follow a fixed lineup of questions that they are prepared for testing the motivational level of a candidate for the specific job. Most important thing rather than questioning, matter in an interview is timing or duration of interview. Employers should set or ask questions in such a manner that it should not resemble to a table talk or casual meeting.

It is not important that being owner of the company, you should take interview by yourself. An efficient and trust worthy employee of your company can perform this job too. It is better to form a panel or interviewers that can ask questions in each regard.

To make interview effective and resulting employers should divide it into three phases.

First phase: Introduction or Personal details

Most of the time, applicants are called for a job interview after going through their resume, that have submitted before. A lineup is formed containing the names of shortlisted candidates. Asking name and past experience from the candidate or confirming it will help interviewee to handle its nervousness and stay calm. After this employer should ask candidate about his awareness regarding job and tasks. First phase of the interview may also contain job seeker’s home location or source of connivance that he is going to use if getting this job. Why you want to do job? This is an important question and will let you know the aim or importance of job for the candidate.

Second phase: Capabilities and past experience

It is very important to know about the past experience or working history of the candidate. This will help you a lot in finding good and efficient employee for your company.  In this section you should ask interviewee that what are his capabilities, if he has mentioned any past experience of job do ask him about experience certificate or letter with personal views of his past company people.

Here at this time an employer must brief candidate about the job and tasks that he need to perform if get hired. He must also convey the targets that employee must achieve for sure. Moreover, employer or interviewer must ask candidates some question related to the job tasks so that he can have an idea that how the applicant will work, and what would be his strategies.

Third Phase: Future discussion

This is the ending phase of a job interview. Never the less, it got same importance as second one. In this time the employer may ask interviewee about his future plans. Important is that a dedicated person with strong ambitions can be very beneficial for your company. You can also ask him about the salary or his expectations about the salary. You must deliver information about the job timings and all related matters.

Many people especially offering job opportunities in Pakistan behave as they are hiring a personal servant instead of job employee. Remember the fact that you employee is working for the betterment of your firm. They are hired to work for the company that you own but not for you. Harsh and over confident behavior will annoyed the candidate and he/she might not accept your job offer because of your behavior.

How to assist a newly hired employee I the best way possible?

Careers in Pakistan brings us to face different. One such situation is when a newly hired candidate entered the office premises. The lost expressions of the candidates remind us all of our first day at work. Therefore being a professional worker for jobs in Pakistan, it is our responsibility to assist the new hired employee to get more comfortable with the entire transition process.

Therefore when you are to face a new hire at the workplace, make sure to retreat to these points in mind.

You were just like them once: when you see a new comer at work, doesn’t it takes you back to your first day. For instance when I started my teaching job in Islamabad, I felt incredulous by the pressure of the new place. It was overwhelming to remember the number of floors, classes, sections, their specific names, new faces, so much to process and yet to look at best of our sanity and mental presence. Seeing the professionalism at workplace, I even question myself as why was I accepted at the first place.  At this time the coworkers plays the most supportive role to calm my nerves and get me into my role. From my experience of teaching job in Islamabad, I have a string conviction that our coworkers can make our transition very smooth whether it’s a company of 10 or 10,000 professionals. If a company welcomes its workers on the first day with a proper orientation meeting and facility tour it will help the newly hires to gel in the system more swiftly. Moreover give them an extra helping hand with details of lunch break, places from where employees order their lunch, refreshment room etc.

Take them as a priority: if your employee doesn’t feel welcome at work, they will take more time to get into the skin of the job and hence productivity of the employee will be effected.  The sooner they understand the work and functionalities, better it is for the employer. Therefore, company should take them as a priority the way we take our clients as top notch priority in external dealings.

Develop a schedule for newly hires to help them out on first day: if on the first you provide your newbies with a guideline in the form of a schedule or a to-do list, it’s the best. It will ease the employee’s conversion in a new environment.  

Keep them cognizant: the most important part of the job is to keep them aware of the office rules regulations. Moreover, try to be more communicative with them as it relax their nerves and somehow it builds up the future official relationships as well.

Devising an operative employee’s orientation meeting to guide the newly hires in a functional way. If guided properly, they will become more productive in their jobs in Pakistan. 

How to Attempt Successful Stress Management at Work

The importance of all businesses in the different markets is based on diverse factors, including the work force. Developing a successful stress management plan in the workplace is a must to any small, medium or large company before stress becomes a problem, affecting employees' personal relations and productivity while when you want to pay attention on jobs in Pakistan.

If the search for stress relief in our every day life is necessary, a stress-free work environment is mandatory before the business becomes itself the cause of stress to its owner. In times of China's Mao Tse Tung (Mao Zedong), the Chinese Communist party implemented a stress management-like method that common citizens around the world still follow, many decades later.

The practice of Tai Chi Chuan was held as early as 3:30 am every working day. Hundreds of employees were gathered in the main squares all over the nation to exercise, including Tian An Men Square nearby the Forbidden city in Pekin (Beijing). Westernized as Tai Chi, this New Age practice contributes enormously to stress relief in work and every-day settings.

Coping with stress within the workspaces is considered the key to long-term career success, economic growth and permanency in businesses markets. Workers are generally under different time pressures. In such conditions, stress can appear as a result of the most insignificant thing.

Furthermore, demanding careers may be more stressful than others. Companies must be aware of this situation by preventing tension. Stress management can be as easy as providing workers with the knowledge to detect and self-manage their stress levels, or shared activities involving all the personnel.

Opening communication channels is often a good idea so they can express what they feel or their particular concerns about labor matters. Manage stress at the office is sometimes as simple as closing the door to avoid people walking in and distracting.

Stress can be beneficial when few doses motivate employees, but out of control, it can cause a sense of urgency that can be devastating for both the worker and the company. Control the high levels of stress within the workspace reduces the negative impact on their personal life, and improving time management is another way to generate stress relief between the work force.

Research has found that fixed work schedules are the main cause of stress within the workspace, as a result of the anxiety caused by feeling there is not enough time to complete all the tasks due every single day.

When stress management is focused on time, the development of an anti-stress program, optimizing phone calls, Internet Surfing and eliminating time wasters, is a solution that works.

Many companies have annual sporting events to encourage employees' productivity, generating as well the necessary stress relief.