Why the Hiring Process Should be Gamified

Why the Hiring Process Should be Gamified Sponsored article by Criteria Corp. JobFlare. For years, the traditional hiring process has relied on the same basic model: collect resumes, request interviews, administer assessments, request work samples, check references. Out of all these staples of the hiring process, research continuously reaffirms that pre-employment assessments, and particularly cognitive aptitude tests, are the most predictive of job success. This is because pre-employment tests offer advantages that the other hiring factors lack. Reference checks are notorious for selection bias, because what applicant would list a bad reference? Similarly, resumes can present a false front, both positively and negatively. Resumes can be stacked with half-truths or they can be too limited, failing to tell the whole story about a candidate’s potential. Resumes also do a disservice to new college graduates or people who are switching fields, as they can’t fully demonstrate a candidate’s potential. But while pre-employment tests offer an objective solution to a common hiring problem, the hiring landscape is shifting. The internet age has transformed the way that people apply for jobs. Attention spans are shorter and applicants can be choosier â€" most hiring executives agree that it’s a candidate’s hiring market, making candidate experience a priority for any employer that wishes to attract the top candidates. Adding to the changing landscape, mobile is becoming more and more integral to the hiring process. One study found that 77% of job seekers use mobile job search apps, and 45% of job seekers said they use a mobile device to search for jobs at least once a day. Adapting to the modern hiring process requires innovative strategies for attracting and engaging the modern job seeker. And one answer may be more fun than you think: gamification. Bringing gamification to the hiring process Gamification is the idea of turning a process into competitive engagement to make a task feel more like a game. It has found its way into many different industries and activities in recent years, with games started to shift the way nearly every industry creates and consumes data. In health and wellness, fitness apps award trophies and send bragging rights to your friends. In business, gamification is used to motivate employees and increase engagement. In marketing, gamification comes in many forms, such as branded apps that offer promotional rewards based on how much you spend. The hiring and recruiting industry is no exception â€" it’s ripe for gamification as a quick and fun way to identify talent. In fact, the model already exists in the form of “brain game” apps. Popular services like Lumosity which currently has 70 million members â€" have demonstrated the popularity of brain games as an app category. For recruitment, games that test specific traits that are in demand from employersâ€"such as critical thinking, attention to detail, problem-solving, verbal and math skillscan be used to quickly take measure of a job seeker. Their scores can serve as talent signals to indicate their potential as an employee, regardless of what they may or may not be able to demonstrate on a resume. Even if the evaluation of someone’s ability based on these games may not be quite as reliable of a signal as you might get from traditional aptitude tests, they hold great promise as a preliminary means of finding, engaging and evaluating prospective talent. Gamificati on in this form could benefit the hiring industry in three key areas: A level playing field: A strong candidate can come in many proverbial shapes and sizes. Young, old, experienced, or new to the industry â€" a candidate with any of these backgrounds could be a potential star employee who can make a significant impact on your company. Resumes, however, can’t always capture what a candidate has to offer, especially for applicants who are new to the workforce and don’t have much experience. A gamified app that evaluates abilities, not depth of resume, creates a level playing field for everyone, allowing true skill to shine through rather than relying on a candidate’s background, connections, or educational pedigree, which can be so heavily influenced by socioeconomic factors. Their best selves: Some people don’t interview well. Others may not necessarily know what the ins and outs of a tip-top resume may look like. But playing a game? Anyone can do that, and in fact, research shows that people perform better when they’re having fun. With a gamified hiring app, not only can candidates relax and engage with the games in a familiar environment, they can actually have fun doing it! A broader reach: Even in the age of sophisticated hiring software, too many companies are relying on candidates finding them. There’s no easy way to reach a mass audience, or to go after candidates in nontraditional places. But with gamification, anyone can download the app and play. If the games are fun and rewarding, they can attract a wide range of candidates who may not have found out about a particular job opportunity on their own. In this way, gamification can serve as a talent surfacing engine, uncovering talent in unexpected places and helping both candidates and companies find each other in creative ways. A modern take on an age-old need Sifting through candidates and identifying potential will always be a part of the hiring process. But technology is changing the way job seekers are looking for jobs as well as the way employers are finding potential employees. Gamification can help to fill the gap by enabling both employers and job seekers to engage with each other in unique ways, getting us one step closer to a world where talent and opportunity are more perfectly aligned. Josh Millet is the CEO Founder of  Criteria Corp., a pre-employment testing company founded in 2006 that creates software for employers to gather objective data on job candidates with aptitude, personality, and skills tests. He is also the Founder of  JobFlare, a mobile app that helps job seekers get discovered based on their abilities rather than their resume.  

How Long Should a Freelance Writing Resume Be?

How Long Should a Freelance Writing Resume Be?The right questions to ask when choosing how long to freelance writing resume is simple: How long do you need a job? Do you know the answer?Freelance writing gigs are popping up all over the place. The majority of them will pay extremely well, and many offer excellent residual incomes.If you're considering going freelance for a while, and are thinking about starting an online career in the meantime, your first step should be to figure out how long you want to take a freelance job. It's smart to be clear on that before you even get started, because it could make a big difference in how much money you get.If you're like most people, your old job just isn't making enough money to live on, and you need to figure out if you're going to stay in your current position or if you're going to get another one. Many writers who have been with a company for a while have been able to renegotiate their contracts and bring in a great deal more money than they were making before.Freelancing can also be great for your business, because it's so easy to get projects. Once you've been freelancing for a while, you'll quickly notice that the workload is growing, and you'll need to work harder to keep up. If you start out with a small number of clients, you'll soon find yourself overwhelmed with work.So it's important to know how long to apply for a freelance writing gig. This is easier said than done, because many people tend to think that these jobs should be easy to get. That's not the case, though, and those who do get freelance writing gigs will be put to work for a long time.How long to a freelance work doesn't just come down to how many projects you submit. You also need to make sure that you have a good portfolio of work you've done. If you've been working as a writer for years and have nothing to show for it, you might as well find another way to make a living.If you're looking to change careers, finding out how long to freelance i s going to be your first step. Do you want to continue working online, or go freelance for a while and get more clients? Knowing the answers to these questions will help you figure out how long to write a freelance writing resume.

3 Tips for Looking Professional With Very Little Time

3 Tips for Looking Professional With Very Little Time For the professional woman, it’s all about finding the perfect balance between time spent on work, time spent on recuperation, and time spent on self. But on those days where this balance is a little more out of whack than normalâ€"like when you’ve slept in too late after working into the night and now you only have 20 minutes to get ready for workâ€"you’ve got to find a way to maintain your professionalism without letting your boss, coworkers, or clients know that you’re feeling a bit frantic. To help this rouse go off seamlessly, here are three tips for looking professional with very little time.  Get Your Blood Flowing  One of the best things you can do for your appearance is to exercise regularly. Getting in a good workout in the morning will help you have more energy during the day and keep you focused and determined on your work. But when you don’t have time for a real workout in the morning, try to at least get your blood flowing a little bit. This could mean jogging around your house while you’re getting ready, parking farther away from work so you have to walk more, or doing a quick circuit next to your bed once you wake up. Bill Murphy Jr., a contributor to Inc.com, writes that if you can’t take your health seriously, others have a hard time taking you seriously as well, so try to at least get moving a little bit each morning.  Create A Professional Capsule Wardrobe  When you don’t have time to figure out what to wear in the morning, a professional capsule wardrobe is going to be a lifesaver for you. According to Kat of Corporette.com, a capsule wardrobe is essentially a small number of high-quality clothing items in which all piece work well together aesthetically. This means that regardless of which pieces you wear with other pieces, you’re going to look and feel great. Once you’ve created the perfect professional capsule wardrobe for yourself, it won’t matter that you only have 5 minutes to get dressed because you won’t even have to think about picking out the perfect professional outfit anymore.  Look Good Within Time Constraints  A rushed morning usually means a rushed job on your looks as well. But if you have a job in which you have to look professional, you’ve got to find ways to speed up your morning routines when necessary. To do this, Aly Walansky, a contributor to Today.com, recommends doing things like having a cute yet simple haircut and style, using muti-purpose beauty products, sticking to makeup basics, and leaving a few items at work so you can touch-up if you need to. By finding ways to make the process of getting ready in the morning take place in a shorter time period, you can still look and feel professional even when working within time constraints. If you’ve been looking for ways to still look and feel professional during a rushed morning, use the tips mentioned above to help you do just that.

Why Cover Letters Still Matter - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Why Cover Letters Still Matter - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career It may be the era of texting, multitasking and communicating in 140 characters or less, but when it comes to finding a job, cover letters still matter. Long gone are the days when you would send a recruiter or hiring manager a cover letter and resume in the mail, but even though the medium of communications has changed, the etiquette has stayed the same. “Every resume should be accompanied by a cover letter whether it’s required for the application or not,” says Tom Gimbel, president and chief executive of LaSalle Network, a Chicago staffing company. “Cover letters are a hiring manager’s first impression of the job seeker. It’s an opportunity for the job seeker to convince the employer that they are qualified and should be brought in for an interview.” How you craft your cover letter also matters and matters a lot, especially in a competitive market where employers are sifting through hundreds of cover letters and resumes. Recruiters and hiring managers will know in seconds if the cover letter is generic and will often skip those and ones that are too long-winded. Because of that, career experts say brevity but not laziness is your best friend, at least when writing a cover letter. “Don’t bore, confuse or alienate your reader by having too much information,” says Mark Jaffe, president of Wyatt Jaffe, the executive search firm. “People make the mistake of putting what should go in the expertise or summary part of the resume in a cover letter.” According to Jaffe, job seekers are making a mistake if their cover letter includes more than alerting the hiring manager that the resume is attached, listing their job function and level and what industry they are in. “Nobody pays attention to anything for more than 2.5 seconds,” says Jaffe. “People wrongly think bombarding you with critical information prematurely is the way to mitigate that.” Hand in hand with keeping it brief is creating a tailored cover letter that matches the job description of the position you are trying to land. Gimbel says job seekers should briefly explain in the cover letter how their past experience matches the skills needed for the current position. Gimbel also says to avoid repeating the job description in the cover letter. “A tailored cover letter is the difference between a lazy and motivated candidate. If a candidate can’t take an extra five minutes to draft a tailored, personalized cover letter, it shows the hiring manger that they are lazy and not fully interested in the position,” he says. “Job seekers that blast generic cover letters will continue to find themselves unemployed.” Another big no-no: rehashing or repeating your resume in the cover letter. According to career experts, job seekers have to view the cover letter as a supplement to the resume and not simply a place to reiterate what they can read when they open up the attached resume. A way to do that says Gimbel is to avoid listing your day-to-day duties and instead highlight skills you used in prior jobs. “If you were a project manager then reiterate your leadership skills in the cover letter,” says Gimbel. “Or, if you were in a finance position, highlight your analytical skills. Don’t list out your day-to-day tasks.” Its also a good idea to personalize the cover letter instead of using the generic “To Whom It May Concern.” This may take a little company research on your part to find out who the hiring manager is or the person in charge of human resources but if you can find the right person to send it to it not only increases your chances of it being read but it also shows your resourcefulness. For many job seekers one of the most confusing aspects of the cover letter is how they send it. Does it come as an attachment in an email or is it in the body of the email? Since hiring managers and recruiters are busy and often juggling multiple things at one time, career experts say it’s best to put the cover letter in the body of the email, granted the company isn’t requesting something else. “Many employers specify how they want you to submit your application,” says Alison Doyle, About.com guide to job searching. “You may be asked to send a cover letter attachment (typically a PDF or Word file) or upload your application materials to a company website or job site.” Author: Donna Fuscaldo is a freelance journalist hailing out of Long Island, New York. Donna writes for numerous online publications including FoxBusiness.com, Bankrate.com, AARP.com, Insurance.com and Houselogic.com. As a personal finance reporter for years, Donna provides invaluable advice on everything from saving money to landing that dream job. She also writes a weekly column for FoxBusiness.com focused on technology for small businesses. Previously, Donna was an equities reporter for Dow Jones Newswires and a special contributor to the Wall Street Journal. Through the Glassdoor Blog, Donna will provide tips on how to find a job and more importantly keep it.

You Can Improve Your Resume - Here Are the Secrets to Help You Do So

You Can Improve Your Resume - Here Are the Secrets to Help You Do SoAre you having problems with your writing abilities and want to improve your writing skills, but are not sure how to go about it? Do you know what is good or bad writing? Do you have to be a professional writer to write with good results on your resume?No matter how good you may be as a professional writer, there are certain rules that will help you when writing your resume and the best part is that no one else will have to read your resume except for yourself. Although, a resume is written to get the job, if it gets a second look it is not a good one.Whether you are a stay at home mom or a professional writer, you should still write your resume. It is the first thing employers see and often what they base the decision of hiring you on. If you do not have the skill to write a well thought out resume, then you should not bother trying to write one.There are many ways to improve your resume and one of them is to avoid all the filler information. The more filler information you put in your resume, the more likely you are to forget everything you wrote. Some filler information that may be included on your resume include: contact information, employment information, and hobbies/interests. There are others but you will get the idea.Employers do not care about what you are passionate about or what you like to do, what they care about is how well you will communicate what you know. All good writers know how to convey information in an easy to understand way. Employers are looking for someone who can communicate effectively and clearly.They are also looking for a candidate that has plenty of work experience. This is a major requirement and also provides more weight on how well a person can write. Employers are looking for someone who has worked in many positions, knows how to communicate and present information clearly and accurately and is well organized.Employer will also look for candidates who have good communication skills and are well organized. Communication is the key to the whole process. If you are able to communicate and present yourself professionally, you are going to look much better on your resume.Finally, if you are able to provide references that can back up what you say, you are going to get that edge that you need to get the job. With all these tips you should be able to easily improve your resume and put yourself in a better position to get hired and succeed in your career.

How to Teach Writing a Resume For the Future

How to Teach Writing a Resume For the FutureThere are many things that you can learn on how to teach writing a resume. If you want to be successful with your resume, it is best to start by learning about what people expect to see when they take a look at it. By doing this, you will know what to focus on and what not to and you will be able to help others as well.It is very important to make your resume as professional as possible. The first thing that you should be aware of is the things that you can do to help. You may be one of those people who do not really know much about how to write a resume. However, when you learn how to teach writing a resume, you will be able to teach other people about it as well.One of the things that you can do is to make sure that you are focusing on some easy tasks. Instead of making all of your resume's information about you, make it look like something that is very well written and easy to read. Do not focus on fancy words or anything fancy. The best thing that you can do is to make it simple and easy to understand.The next thing that you can do is to find the right materials to use. The first thing that you should do is to get a high quality resume book to learn from. These books are the ones that have a lot of practice pieces. By practicing, you will be able to use the material in real life instead of just writing it on paper.The next thing that you can do is to get the information about new concepts. One of the things that you can do is to find out about the changing trends in the job market today. This way, you will be able to adjust your skills to be more applicable. After all, most people are looking for different things.The next thing that you can do is to find out about good things that you can do that will help you. The best thing that you can do is to make sure that you are providing information in your resume that will help people to choose you. The best way to do this is to focus on keywords in your resume and also some keywords that will help people learn about you.When you are teaching how to teach writing a resume, you can use a few other things as well. One of these things is to learn about the different grammar tips that are available to people today. There are different ways that you can learn these things and one of the best ways is to practice writing.Learning how to teach writing a professional resume is one of the best things that you can do today. With the tips that you learned, you will be able to become a professional by using them. Also, when you learn how to teach writing a resume, you will be able to make your resume more efficient so that it will help you land the best jobs today.

Pecha Kucha - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Pecha Kucha - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Guy Dickinson introduced a new format at reboot8: Pecha Kucha. Its insane. And it rocks. Heres the deal: A number of people do a presentation on any topic, consisiting of 20 slides each of which is shown for only 20 seconds. Somebody else times it and advances slides while you present your topic in only a little over 6 minutes. This wasnt on the official program, Guy added it himself during the conference, and this is precisely why reboot rocks smart, passionate people contributing great stuff not originally part of the plan. Anyway, I read about this Pecha Kucha thing and went hmmmm, that sounds like a new challenge (regardless of my normal resistance to PowerPoint slides). Mind you: I decided to do it 1 hour before the session started, so I had to furry and cut down a previous Happy At Work presentation and figure out what to say. When my turn came I was really nervous, which I normally never am before presenting. But remember: Adrenaline makes fun things even more fun! And it went great! The 5 presentations shown were wildly different (from The power of small to 10 things to do with the palm of your hand) but each was interesting and managed to give you an actual feel for the topic in a very short time. It was also fun to see people put themselves on the line and try something new. There was an element of risk and will they pull it off that gave a certain nerve and immediacy to the whole session. Thank you to Guy for introducing the format to reboot, I have a feeling it will be back for reboot9. UPDATE: You can download my slides here. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

10 Secrets to an Energy Filled Work Day - Career Advice Blog for Millennials

10 Secrets to an Energy Filled Work Day - Career Advice Blog for Millennials Today’s workplace is anything but traditional, but one thing remains: the eight-hour workday. During this eight-hour period, you’re expected to be awake and alert, ready to take on the next assignment. If you’re like me, however, and can’t seem to stay focused that long, consider the following tips to keep you energized at work. Get Some Sleep I know this usually doesn’t happen at work, but getting a good night’s sleep is essential to a productive workday. As a general rule, most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep per night. So, before you pull another all-nighter to get ahead at work, you should know that sleep has many unexpected benefits including increased productivity. Some even suggest a quick nap at work. Depending on your company’s culture, napping may be allowed. If you’re lucky enough to be granted the privilege of work-naps, take advantage of them with 20-30 minutes of shut-eye shortly after lunch. Eat Healthier I’m not a nutritionist, but I know that the food we eat turns into energy that we use every day. Your lunch break is supposed to give you the means to power through the rest of your day, so choose wisely. I know those brownies in the break room seem tempting, but overly sugary foods can cause crashes later on in the day. In the same way, fatty foods make you sluggish because your body is working harder to break down nutrients, which is why eating a well-balanced meal is so important. As the old saying goes, you are what you eat. And if you’re thinking about eating lunch at your desk, think again. Eating at your desk is bad for you in more ways than one and you should do whatever you can to avoid it. Curb Coffee Consumption Yeah, I said it. According to a study conducted by Harvard University’s School of Public Health, the average American adult consumes three cups of coffee and the country spends more than $40 billion on coffee annually. Similar to most snack foods, coffee and other energy drinks provide momentary bursts of energy in the form of caffeine that lead to periods of burnout later on. Kicking the habit is hard, but start slow. Why not try drinking tea, instead as a healthy alternative to get your energy boost? Exercise There’s scientific evidence suggesting that that exercise renews energy. Even if your office doesn’t have an indoor gym, there are still plenty of simple exercises that you can do at your desk. Remember, stairs are not the enemy. Exercising before work is good too, if you feel like waking up early. In which case, kudos to you. Listen to Music If you work in an office, chances are you’re in front of a computer with access to the Internet. When laziness strikes, put on a pair of noise-cancelling headphones and start the music. Although some people believe that classical music works best, find whatever helps keep you focused and stick to it. The Ambient station on SoundCloud is keeping me company as I write. No matter what genre you chose, I noticed that songs with mellow moods improve concentration more than those with upbeat tones. Stay Cold Although power naps increase energy, falling asleep at your desk is an indicator of sleepiness and low energy levels. WikiHow suggests using the cold to your advantage. Whether you chew ice or splash your face with cold water, the human body is designed to self-regulate its core temperature and will keep you awake longer in order to warm up. Change the Scenery I could tell you go outside and take a walk, but I won’t â€" even though it does help. The folks at Buzzfeed thought of some clever ways to combat energy loss by changing your perspective within the office. If your corporate culture isn’t as liberal as theirs, consider taking that walk be it outside or within your building. Taking a break from the screen will clear your mind and force your body out of a sedentary position. Get Involved This one might be a little difficult, especially if you aren’t terribly fond of your job. Do some research on a subject that you’ve always wanted to learn about and your day will be over in no time. Ever wonder why time always seems to go faster when you’re doing something that you love? This is called getting into the flow and it might be the secret to a more productive workday. Find Some Friends Friends can provide both physical and emotional support when you’re energy is running low. Try these tips to make friends at the office. You may end up getting more than a friend out of it; studies show having friends at work increases happiness and productivity, too. Need more than your office friends? Sometimes reaching out to a friend outside of work could be the push you need to get going again. Switch It Up Camille Peri of WebMD writes, “At work or home, try to reserve more stimulating tasks for your sleepy times. Or switch to more engaging work responsibilities when you feel yourself nodding off.” You’re probably given more than one assignment to complete at work every day; don’t be afraid to skip around if you get stuck on one thing. What are your favorite ways to re-energize? Let us know in the comments! While youre here, be sure to subscribe to the newsletter for more tips to keep you energized throughout the day!