Why Working In Finance Might Actually Be Perfect For You

Why Working In Finance Might Actually Be Perfect For YouWhy Working in Finance Might Actually Be Perfect for You (Even If Youd Never Expect It To Be)The world of finance isnt just occupied by number-cruncherbeis and economists. In fact, financial services companies are among the fruchtwein innovative and customer-oriented, which is why they need such a broad range of talent to succeed.Sarah is a perfect example of this. She recently graduated with a degree in philosophy and has a passion for creative writingnow she works for financial services leader Fidelity Investments as a Customer Relationship Advocate.We spoke to Sarah about how she found her way into the finance worldand why working at Fidelity is a great opportunity to build a career (even if you never pictured yourself working in finance).How A Liberal Arts Degree Can Lead To Fidelity InvestmentsSarah is just a few months into her training at Fidelityand she loves her new role.Before coming to Fidelity, Sarah considered becom ing a teacher and worked in a retail leadership role, but she didnt feel that either of those were her calling.I wasnt sure, to be honest, where I wanted to go, Sarah tells us. Finance wasnt really on my radar at the time. I kind of always assumed that to be in finance you had to study finance, and that wasnt really something in my plan.Its definitely been kind of a 180 for me, she says. When she heard about the Customer Relationship Advocate role and saw that it was open to people of all academic and professional backgrounds, her mind started to change. Once she took the job and began the training program, she knew she had found something special.From Philosophy Major To Financial Guidance ProviderWhat I love the most about working here is just how great the training program is, Sarah says. Theres a lot of support. I spent the first month learning how to do the basic jobs. Now Im going through licensing. The goal of Customer Relationship Advocates is to help Fidelitys customers sol ve their problems and access the right tools and services needed to help accomplish their financial goals. Essentially, theyre the front line between the company and the customer. To be successful in the role, youll need both knowledge of Fidelity and its products as well as general financial services knowledge and a desire to help others plan and succeed.Its really kind of like being back in school, Sarah says. Its just getting paid to study and learn, which is amazing.Between in-person classes, an online textbook, and the shadowing of current Customer Relationship Advocates, Sarah and her cohort are picking up all the necessary skillsand seeing how their career at Fidelity could unfold in the future.All of this training is to get us to a point where were confident and comfortable helping people plan for their future, Sarah says.If Youre Willing to Work Hard, You Can Build an Amazing CareerBecause of the superb training program, Sarah feels the job is really accessible to anyone as long as theyre patient, persistent, and an excellent listener.Its about being able to ask the right questions to help them find the other options they might have, Sarah says. It really is available to anybody if youre willing to do the work.What was important to Fidelity were Sarahs other skillsones that had been with her throughout her life and career communication, the ability to educate others, and the capacity to learn quickly and thoroughly about new things.Sarah is excited about getting to combine her newfound knowledge of the financial industry with her customer-service mindset and people skills when she begins the Customer Relationship Advocate role in earnest. But even mora than the role, shes excited about a future at the company.Its about the opportunity that I see here at Fidelity, Sarah says. Its really a jumping-off point and way to open a career path for me.And with her time in the Customer Relationship Advocate role about to begin, the possibilities for Sarah are ju st about unlimited.Want to start your own nontraditional journey into the financial services industry? Learn more about finance and Fidelity on the WayUp blog

The Benefits of Free Resume Writing Site

The Benefits of Free Resume Writing Site The Advantages of Free Resume Writing Site Constructing a resume is an intimidating task should you do it alone. Skills and accomplishments should be broken into specific regions of expertise. You should clearly state what kind of a job which you want, and know what sorts of skills and experiences are required to succeed in that job. Want to Know More About Free Resume Writing Site? A fundamental text editor at no cost, providing you a printable resume template. Just sign up there, complete the details and your Resume is about to download. Have a peek at these examples to select which format is most suitable for you. To begin, you have the choice to import your Word or LinkedIn resume. Whispered Free Resume Writing Site Secrets Our resume builder is the quickest approach to create a resume that will allow you to get your fantasy job. There are various ways to organize your resume. Create resume here is only a fun. The Free Resum e Writing Site Trap Its possible for you to enter your social websites profile address for an extra point of contact. Resumizer free resume creator allows you to vorschau your resume at any location in the creation procedure. All you need to do is complete the form. If you take a look at all our free resume writing examples, you will see they employ clear, succinct sentences that get right to the point. Employing a custom resume instead of a generic one is going to greatly increase your probability of an interview, as youll be a better match in the view of the reader. The mixture of our templates and your input is likely to make your resume fly to the peak of any pile. You will want to be as concise as possible with your own personal pitch. The Master t he Interview guide will allow you to understand and apply key practices, and that means you always leave an outstanding impression. Remember, the single and most important aim of a resume is to get an interview. Everything in your resume ought to be simple to read and simple to comprehend. For instance, there is a real-life example of the Ministry of Truth. Ruthless Free Resume Writing Site Strategies Exploited All the info required isnt time-consuming. The website provides some helpful prewritten phrases you are able to use if you become stumped attempting to produce your own. It also hosts a network for employers looking for new talent. It will tell you how many views your resume has. Even if you opt to modify your work objective later, it is extremely crucial that you choose a temporary objective for the time being. Across turn, your company meeting with expertise need to be wonderful if you prefer to develop one specific recruiting supervisor which will help give you any position. Therefore, its important you take the time before you begin your resume to form a crystal clear and targeted objective. Your final job application content expertise need to be equally as great for make unques tionably the individual which may should federal you have some type of interview.

How To Write Your Key Selection Criteria + Examples

How To Write Your Key Selection Criteria + Examples Writing Your Key Selection Criteria ResponsesPosted October 13, 2011, by Sue StevensMany people applying for government jobs for the first time may notlage be aware of the importance of selection criteria responses, or how to approach them. These are a critical part of most government applications and essential to creating an outstanding application.Even if you have a brilliant resume that shows you have excellent skills and qualifications to do the job and youve written an absolutely sensational deckblatt letter tailored to the position, if you dont address the selection criteria in a separate document that explains how well you fit each criterion, chances are you will be overlooked. Fulfilling the selection criteria to the satisfaction of the selection committee is the only way you can make it across the line to the next stage of the recruitment process the interview.Where to start?The first thing you need to do is find out what the selection criteria are. You will find them either in the advertisement or on the government departments website along with a downloadable job application kit. Then you need to create a new document and list all the criteria, word for word, as they appear in the job application kit. Name the document and make sure you include your own name at the top of the page. You can use a heading such asStatement addressing selection criteriaSelection criteria summaryResponses to selection criteriaStatement of claims, selection criteriaFYI When it comes to naming documents, all your application documentation should have your name prominently displayed and its best to name the electronic documents with your name, not just selection_criteria.doc. This will make it easy for the receiver to identify your document from all the others that have also been submitted.Give examplesWhen answering the selection criteria think about how you meet each selection criterion and list examples of relevant sk ills, experience, incidents, training and personal qualities. You need to make the link between what you can do, and have done in the past, and how it relates to the job. If you dont have any actual work experience, use other relevant experience such as something you have done at university, for a voluntary organisation or a club to illustrate your capacity to undertake the work required. In every answer to the criteria, you need to demonstrate that you have developed and practised ansicht skills in your past experience/s. Its not enough to just state that you can do it.Use keywordsPart of the trick of responding to selection criteria is identifying and understanding the keywords in each criterion and incorporating these into your response. These subtle differences and the way you word your response could be what sets you apart from the other applicants. Know the difference between phrases such as ability to (means having the skills), knowledge of (familiarity gained from actual experience) and understanding of (fully comprehend the matter). Incorporate your understanding of these terms into your response and youre on the right track to submitting an outstanding statement.Choose the right wordsWhen writing a selection criterion response, find one excellent example from your past and demonstrate what and how you achieved a good outcome. Make sure that you use strong action words such as demonstrated, reviewed, developed, initiated or negotiated rather than less powerful words such as involved in or assisted. Always give examples and avoid unsubstantiated claims. You can use bullet points if there is a list of points you are making.Address all the partsMore often than not, selection criteria will consist of several parts and are sometimes qualified as either essential (must-have skills and experience) or desirable (good to have and improve your chances of being highly regarded). It is tempting to write a broad response focusing on just one part of the crite rion and hope this will get you through. But if you want to hit the selection criteria nail on the head and guarantee yourself an interview, then this isnt good enough. For example, Ability to contribute ideas and demonstrate initiative and flexibility actually has three components ability to contribute ideas, demonstrate initiative and demonstrate flexibility. In order to respond to this correctly it is vital that you address all three of these skills, making sure to include the keywords in your response.STAR approachAs mentioned above, the key to responding to selection criteria well is to address all parts of the criterion, to include the keywords and give specific examples. Many well-written statements follow what is known as the STAR method of response Situation, Task, Action, Result. The following example response is broken up into the STAR components, with each section labelled. This is for your benefit dont label the sections in your final statement Ability to apply ac ademic knowledge and concepts to practical situationsSituationI have been involved with a local Community Justice Group for the last 12 months.TaskThis involves helping people prepare their cases for mediation.ActionI regularly apply my academic knowledge in this capacity, assisting local residents to articulate their issues, encapsulate arguments and formulate desired resolutions.ResultMy efforts have received excellent feedback from my supervisors and I have received several letters of thanks from clients I have helped.Another acceptable way of answering selection criteria is SAO Situation, Action, Outcome. Whether you choose STAR or SAO, it is important that you show how you can meet each criterion.The final touchesSome government departments and agencies do not want any more than three paragraphs per criterion (or about 250 words) others do not have any limit. As a general rule, try to be as concise as possible and at the maximum, write no more than one A4 page per criterion. O nce you have completed your statement of claims in relation to selection criteria, check over your responses and make sure there are no typographical errors and that the sentences read well. Finally, make sure that the formatting of your selection criteria document matches the accompanying resume (or CV), cover letter and any other documentation you are submitting. By having a consistent formatting style with fonts and font sizes, your application will present as a cohesive whole. This alone shows that you have taken considerable care and attention to detail. Get the selection criteria right and youre on your way to an interview and one step closer to the jobIf youre looking for inspiration, take a look at our sample key selection criteria responses. ResourcesMy first resumeCover letter for my first jobCareer Insider StoriesShelley Lask - Body Positive Health & FitnessInterested in becoming a?Human Resources OfficerGeneral ManagerBusiness ManagerAccountantOffice AdministratorPopu lar Career Searcheskey selection criteria examples change managerkey selection criteria examples scaffolderkey selection criteria examples mortgage brokerkey selection criteria examples clinical nursesample selection criteria responses teaching CoursesBachelor of Social WorkEnquire Online Enquire OnlineCertificate III in Health AdministrationEnquire Online Enquire OnlineBachelor of Criminal JusticeEnquire Online Enquire OnlineCertificate III in Allied Health AssistanceEnquire Online Enquire OnlineSue StevensRelated ArticlesBrowse moreCareer progressionHigh schoolYoung (over)achievers who make you feel crap about yourselfNothing can be more infuriating than someone younger than you achieving a lot more than you have. To get you in a good mood, Andrea lists seven youngsters who will make you question whether youre reaching your full potential.ProductivityWellbeingTake more breaks to lose weightRecent research has revealed that taking small breaks from sitting at your desk to stand up and make a phone call or walk down the hallway will not only clear your head, but also help you lose weight and improve your heart health and metabolism.Employment trendsFuture trendsAI Does it Mean Boom or Doom for Your Career?The times they are a changing, but is it all for the better? What should you be studying to future-proof your skills and what do the advancements in artificial intelligence mean for your career?

Sorry John and Sarah, youre the most annoying people in the office

Sorry John and Sarah, youre the most annoying people in the officeSorry John and Sarah, youre the most annoying people in the officeIts amazing, but you spend more time with your coworkers than you do with your loved ones and the people you live with. People like the Cookie Lady you know her, the one who always tries to get you to eat the baked goods she brings in daily and the girl who not-so-innocently asks why you arent married yet.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreThen theres the guy from marketing who gives unsolicited massages. Not to mention your boss and all his dumb stories. Olivet Nazarene University surveyed 2,000 workers about what annoyed them at work, and what annoyed them was their coworkers.On average, the survey found, 2-5 coworkers are annoying people at any one given time (73%).The most irritating things they doLoudness and complaining 49%Gossip and bullying 32%Bathroom and eating habits 12%Strangely, the people who are the most annoying in an office tend to have similar names. Top names for girls are Sarah, Jessica, and Lisa. For boys, its John, Mike, and Mark.A hefty 78% confronted the annoying colleague about their behavior but 47% did it through another colleague. A brave 30% did it directly.Surprisingly, 71% of respondents have been confronted about their annoying before themselves and 65% were men.http//graduate.olivet.edu/You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from nestkken Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

Around the Web If Age Is a Barrier

Around the Web If Age Is a BarrierAround the Web If Age Is a BarrierAround the Web If Age Is a BarrierOf the thousands of age-discrimination claims filed each year, about 10 percent are related to hiring. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Age discrimination definitely increases during tough economic times. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 offers a protection against this, but as with every law, there are processes that need to be followed and certain conditions that need to be met. Below youll find a variety of resources for helping you determine whether or not to file a claim and how to do so. If you feel youve been discriminated against in any way throughout the hiring process, you can file a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC has specific instructions on how to file. Working Fairness has an extensive rundown of what acts legally constitute age discrimination and who is covered under the ADEA (Age Discrimina tion Employment Act), as well as tips on how to prevent and deal with age discrimination in the workforce. The AARP offers information on how to file a claim and what to expect after your claim has been filed. The AARP also has advice and resources for employers on avoiding age discrimination during the hiring process. For those thinking about filing a claim, it might also be interesting to look at the issue from the employers perspective. MarketWatch has put together a highly comprehensive series of articles on age discrimination. One article offers advice for older job seekers about the job search process and how older job seekers can proactively and preemptively deal with age bias. A second story provides additional information and advice on filing an age-bias claim. Aging Workforce News is a news Web site that tracks developments, tools and resources for managing older workers and boomers in the workplace. Its comprehensive links section features a wealth of information for olde r workers, including Interview Questions for Older Workers to Anticipate, 10 Job Ideas for Older Workers, and Approaches and Tactics for Older Workers Who Cant Find a Job.

I Tanked My Interview But Still Landed the JobHeres How

I Tanked My Interview But Still Landed the JobHeres HowI Tanked My Interview But Still Landed the Job- Heres How Just wrapped up a job vorstellungsgesprch that couldnt have gone worse? Dont freak out yet. Plenty o f candidates thought an interview went terribly and lo and behold, found out they scored the job in the days or weeks afterward. It might sound like a rare occurrence, but it happens more often than youd think. To come out on the other end with a job in hand, its all about rebounding as quickly and efficiently as possible, and in many cases, having a little luck and a compassionate interviewer on your side. Here are three stories of bombed interviewsthat had happily employed endings. When, Lyn Alden , an engineer and investment strategy writer, applied for a junior aviation research job and hadnt heard anything from the company two months later, she assumed she didnt get the job. Then, out of the blue, she got word they wanted to set up a phone interview. At that point, I had focused on so many other opportunities that I no longer had much interest in this one, she says. But, to be polite and keep my options open, I scheduled the phone interview. But the call welchesnt exactly smooth sailing. My heart welchesnt in it, and my performance was lousy. I was lying on my bed chatting on the phone with no notes or anything in front of me, like I was talking to a friend instead of an interviewer. I had very little knowledge of the organization I was interviewing for, and was way too casual.Then, the interviewer told her that the job involved computer programming . She was honest and said she had only taken one programming class in college and didnt know much about it. In fact, she said she would need a mentor who would be willing to get hands on in order to do the job duties that were on the table. The interviewer asked me if I had other questions , so I just asked him about a few things he was working on out of curiosity, just chit chat ting, Alden remembers. I didnt try to market myself, and didnt make sure to put myself in the best possible light. Instead, I was casual and brutally honest. When I was finished, it seemed pretty clear to me I wouldnt be picked. The interviewer was polite but didnt sound interested at all. I felt like I wasted his time.Alden was shocked when within a week, she received a job offer . Looking back, she thinks that due to her lack of preparation, she actually ended up being more confident than usual, quite honest about what she could and couldnt do, and upfront about what kind of support she would need in order to get the job done. Clearly, her interviewer liked her pragmatic approach.Once she started the job, Alden worked hard to impress her interviewer, who ended up becoming her babo. I wanted to show that I was a lot more diligent and hard-working than I came off as in the interview. Before starting the job, I researched the organization thoroughly. Once I was there, I spent some o f my evenings learning to code at a higher level so that I could perform better during the workday. Its safe to say her efforts paid off Alden has been working at the same company for the past eight years in increasingly senior positions.Yes. This really happened, and she still got the job. I was interviewing for residency positions as a doctor just out of medical school, says Wei-Shin Lai, M.D., CEO of sleep technology company AcousticSheep . I had a bad head cold and was coughing a lot. For lunch, the interviewers took the potential residents out to a really nice restaurant, and I ate lot of shrimp in vodka sauce. When we went back for our afternoon interviews, I got into a coughing fit and literally threw up on my nicest suit, sitting across from the interviewer. I was embarrassed but just used a tissue, cleaned up, and carried on with the interview.Sounds pretty disastrous, right? Well, Lai was accepted as a resident at that hospital, and shes pretty sure she knows why. I think they let me in because one, they were medical professionals, so vomit is not a big deal, and two, they saw that I was mortified but maintained enough composure to push through the rest of the day. In other words, they saw firsthand that she was able to perform even when she was clearly not feeling her best.Theres nothing worse than circumstances you cant control ruining your dream interview, and thats exactly what happened when Jena Viviano , who is now a career coach, interviewed for a business analyst position at the New York Stock Exchange. The interview was at 8AM, and the night prior I had been working in my investment banking job until 2AM on a project. That wasnt the first night that week I had been at work past midnight, either. I went into the NYSE absolutely exhausted with my Blackberry blowing up from all the people emailing me at my current job. Needless to say, she went into the room unprepared and off her game. When one of the managing directors asked me a question, I started tearing up because I couldnt think straight. Then when she asked me a technical question that I usually wouldve been able to answer, I just turned to her and said, I just really have no idea. Not my proudest moment.Between the crying, the exhaustion, the inability to answer simple questions, and my heel breaking right before I stepped foot into the building, its amazing to me that I got the job, she says. Still, the interviewers saw something in Viviano that convinced them she was a good fit. Though they didnt specifically tell me, I think it was a combination of my authenticity, coachability, potential, and strong enough background that they wanted to bring me in one more time to see if I would be a good fit. Plus, many of the people I interviewed with understood what I was going through because they too had been investment bankers. I always joked with my boss that he rescued me from investment banking and that I was eternally grateful.When it comes down to it, all you can do after something goes horribly awry in an interview is try to regroup and give the interviewer an honest picture of who you really are, plus what makes you qualified for the job. If youre lucky, they may just look past whatever snafu happened during the interview- big or small- and give you the job anyway. Of course, this is mainly likely to happen despite a less-than-ideal interview, you have relevant experience and the desired qualifications for the job . And if this particular job doesnt work out? Dont sweat it. Whatever went wrong in your bombed interview, you can chalk it up to a hard-learned lesson youll never forget.

Resume Lessons from a Recruiter

Resume Lessons from a RecruiterResume Lessons from a RecruiterResume Lessons from a RecruiterRecruiters receive tons of applications and there seem to be some patterns...time to make sure your resume isnt guilty of these faux pas.TWEETI have been a resume writer for a couple of years now. Lately, though, Ive had the opportunity to be on the hiring side. A friend whose business is growing rapidly asked me to help out with office work, including some hiring, and it has been quite the learning experience I believe this task has made me an even better resume writer and has taught me a great deal about resume dos and donts.The position Ive been trying to fill is precise and the posted job description is very clear Full Time Bookkeeping and Administrative Assistant with QuickBooks, advanced Excel experience, and meticulous data entry required.Within 48 hours of the posting we received about 40 resumes and they continued steadily after that.Here are some resume mistakes, facts, and cautiona ry resume help I can offer from what I sawApproximately 95% of the resumes contain the words detail-oriented, excellent verbal and written communication or Able to communicate both verbally and in writing, and organized. You can bet not every single applicant really exhibits these characteristics and we plan to give each candidate a data entry and transcription test. My guess is very few will pass some of the resumes themselves are barely coherent. These self-description statements are so prolific, weve taken to ignoring the summary altogether and go directly to the experience and background area to search for QuickBooks and Excel. Ill bet thats what recruiters at the larger companies do as well.Few people list their related skills at the top, or at all. The skills area can provide searchable key industry words for applicant tracking systems (ATS) and search engines and yet only one or two resumes show skills or include a skills area that lists specific skills for the position. I ha ve actually had to dig for the information.Some applicants (about 20%) come from unrelated fields (manufacturing, elderly care, art, IT) and send resumes totally unrelated to this field without any reference to the job requirements. In terms of resume dos and donts, this is a huge dont.At least half the resumes dont include some of the major points in the job description. A few otherwise very qualified people omitted QuickBooks even though it turns out they have been using it for years.This has been quite the eye-opening experience. As a resume writer, when I close out a project, I remind my clients that the final version of their resume is in Word. This is important because position titles and job descriptions vary wildly company to company and organization to organization. Each posted position will contain very specific language and keywords that applicants can use - should use - on their resume. If the position requires AutoCAD, and you have used AutoCAD, list that as a skill. If the position requires data analysis and you have experience with data analysis, list that. This is why experienced resume writers advocate focusing your resume and career coaches tell clients to have more than one resume - each resume has a specific focus.Whats the resume help take away here?Focus your resume to the position to which you are applying. This can be very annoying, admittedly a cumbersome task, especially if youre just out of college and looking at a variety of positions or youre not yet sure about your career path or youre changing careers. There are so many jobs that are similar with different titles. In the past, Ive been the random sender as well. When youre looking for a job full time and youre sending out 20-30 resumes per day, you can get burned out. I get it.As your potential hirer, I suggest - actually, beg - you take an extra moment to read the job description and appropriately add important keywords. Now that Ive experienced the hiring side of resumes, I see the power of resume mistakes and whats at stake. Seriously - your resume is the difference between a job and the shredder.Need more resume help? Our TopResume writers can help