Category Archives: Job search

How to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn has never been more important when it comes to job search. If you follow our steps on how to optimize your LinkedIn profile, you will increase your chances of making a good impression when searching for a job. Your LinkedIn profile is your professional branding profile and the more you optimize it, the better chances you have to get your dream job. 

1. Upload a Professional Photo 

First thing to do is to upload a professional photo. The photo must have been taken recently, be professional and have a neutral background. Your background or cover image should associate with your professionalism. This could be a picture that shows that you are hardworking, positive, or motivated. It could also be a picture that reflects the industry you are working in perhaps shipping, hospitality, or whatever industry you are working in. 

2. Create a Great Headline 

Your LinkedIn headline can help boost your profile and create more brand awareness. Even though this short description is mostly used for job titles, you can take it a step further and add even more details about your current role and your personality. You can mention that you are result-driven, creative, passionate or whatever you feels describes you professionally.  

3. Tell your story

If you want to know how to optimize your LinkedIn profile, the about section is a good way to start. Some people might use this section to list their recent job titles or achievements within their professional career. Others might use it to tell a small story about themselves or to mention their most valuable skills. The about section is a way for you to brand yourself in a few sentences, so make sure to focus on what you believe is your most important asset.

4. Work Experience and Education

Now comes the most important part. You must add relevant work experience and educational experience. Create a short description of your role and write the most relevant selling points about what you experience and what you achieved during the specific job or education. Make sure that your LinkedIn profile is consistent with your experience in your CV. 

5. Competencies

If you want to get noticed on LinkedIn, you must add all your competencies and skills. Most of the content on your LinkedIn profile works as keywords, as well as the competencies. Which is why it is important to add the most relevant competencies on your profile. This is a great way for you to brand your competencies and skills, as well as a great way to get noticed by recruiters or other relevant people. 

6. Grow your Network 

Now your LinkedIn looks great, so now it is time to make yourself visible. It is great to have a big network, however if your network gets too big it can take away focus from the primary focus of your profile. Make sure to connect with like-minded and skilled individuals to expand your industry and potentially advance your career. If you are looking for a job, it is a good idea for you to connect with relevant companies or recruitments agencies.    

4 Good Tips That Can Ensure You A Higher Salary

There are many ways to prepare for a salary negotiation and different ​​approaches, where the result depends as much on your preparation as the employer’s willingness to negotiate the salary. The question is just which way leads to a pay rise. 

1. Preparation is Key

Regardless of the reason for the pay negotiation, you must always be well prepared for the meeting. Be aware of how much you want in salary for the job you perform or must perform – it is especially relevant to know when you are going to a job interview. 

There are several factors that help determine where you land in the payroll. The recruiter or your immediate manager also comes into the meeting with an estimate salary. The way to negotiate is a minor “mind-game” where you start high and then calmly and surely hit a number that both parties are happy with. 

Though it is not a good idea to start the negotiation with an amount that is incredibly high and completely out of the employer’s reach. It can, if it goes completely wrong, end up with both parties leaving the meeting with a negative impression of each other – which must be avoided. 

2. Compare salaries for your position

If you do not have much knowledge about your expected salary, you can research what others in the same position earn. There are so many resources available online to find the average monthly Package for a given position based on seniority, geography, and other parameters – you can find statistics on everything from software developers to key account managers. Once you have an overview, you can put your work tasks and results in comparison and in the end, you will have an idea what salary you can expect. 

3. Get an overview of your results

Now we mention results again, because in the end the results are the ones you are measured on. It is very important that you are aware of your results in your previous or current company since this is your selling points. You must clarify what value you have added to the company over the last year, and it makes you significantly stronger during the salary negotiations.

4. Talk about salary with colleagues

It is still a controversial and sore point when the theme falls on salary in companies. Some people might say that it is allowed while others will say it is forbidden. But it is always a good idea to get an understanding and an overview by talking internally with colleagues or externally across organizations about salary conditions. The knowledge you gather can ultimately help you get a good salary than you had expected. 

6 Steps to Get Your Dream Job

To make sure that you will submit the best possible application and that you will brand yourself in the best possible way. We have put down 6 steps to get your dream job. 

Build a strong network 

Having a strong professional network can have a huge impact on your career and business opportunities. Perhaps the network can connect you with a great job or it can guide you and contribute to your overall professional growth. These networks can be hard to find especially if you are new in your industry. Start to focus on building a network online, by connecting with relevant people on LinkedIn. You can also attend different networking events.   

Do your research 

If you have a specific company or position in mind, start to do your research. Take the time to read the job description and the values of the company. In this way you know all the required qualifications and the key account abilities. If you have a specific company in mind, you can contact the company or a recruitment agency before other candidates, by contacting the company directly.

Keep it simple and relevant 

When applying for a job you must focus on the most relevant skills and experience that are specifically relevant to the job. Anything in your application that does that not fit with the requirements should either be mentioned briefly or be left out. There is no need to write all your experience from when you were young, especially not if the work experience is not relevant for the role. 

Believe in Yourself 

If you want other people to believe in you, you must believe in yourself. Make sure to stand by your own abilities. If you do so and if you make it shine through your application, it will convince others. Focus on your key skills and what makes you different from others. Remember that the application is your personal branding document. 

Make a great impression 

If you want to make a great impression, the best thing you can do is to be well prepared. Research some potential questions and think about some good answers. It is also very important to arrive on time and dress professionally. Make sure to show your personality in the interview, since it is important for the company to see if you fit in the team. 

Get your dream job 

Try to stay motivated after the job interview. It is always a good idea to contact the company a few days later to show that you are still interested in the position. Remember that getting a job is not easy and it takes time. But if you follow the 6 steps to get your dream job, you are on the right track. 

6 Tips For Writing A Great Job Application

Studies shows that solid preparation significantly increases the chances. Unfortunately, there are usually no easy shortcuts – but remember that the preparation you do in your job search is never wasted and, in most cases, it can be reused if you need to search again.

Do your research

Start with researching the company and the position. Figure out what makes the company interesting and how your competencies fit with the job description. Take the time to read the job description, so that you know all the required qualifications and the key accountabilities. If you know anyone within the industry it can be a great idea to take some time to learn more about the industry, so that you can get some hidden gems.

Take your time
If you rush when making your application, it makes it difficult to make a personalised application and this is obvious for the employers. This will give the employers the impression that you don’t care about getting the role. It will be more time efficient and makes more sense for you to submit one tailored and personalised application which will make you stand out, than submitting five not well thought out applications, which makes it less likely that you get noticed.

Show genuine enthusiasm

An employee who is passionate about their work is worth considerably more than one who is just interested in getting a monthly salary. It is important that you show genuine enthusiasm when writing your application and that you speak the same language as the company. Make sure that you know what the employer is asking for in the job description and respond so that the person reading the application can see exactly how your skills, passion and experience match the job.

Believe in yourself

If you want other people to believe in you, you must believe in yourself. Make sure to stand by your own abilities. If you do so and if you make it shine through your application, it will convince others. Write your application in a way that focuses on the positive impact of your daily work and mention examples of the same.

Keep it relevant

While you may want to include every little bit of the work experience you have, it is important to keep it relevant to keep the employer’s attention. This means that you must focus on the most relevant skills and experience that are specifically relevant to the job. Anything in your application that does not fit with the requirements in the job description should either be mentioned briefly or be left out.

Cover letter and LinkedIn

If you want to stand out more and increase your chances of getting your dream job, you can submit a cover letter alongside your CV. The cover letter introduces you to the employer and gives you a chance to talk directly to the company, emphasising your enthusiasm for the company and the role. Also remember to make sure your LinkedIn profile is consistent with the experience you are highlighting.

Are you in doubt about whether your job application are ready to send out? Get a CV review with Scancruit today.

9 Things That Makes Your Employees Quit Their Job

You can probably find all sorts of reasons for why an employee chooses to leave a company. But the fact is: Employees typically do not leave their jobs, they leave their managers. Therefor we have put down 9 important reasons why employees choose to quit their job, so that you can prevent it from happening.

You push your employees too hard

Nothing drives good employees down like work pressure. It is tempting to put the best employees on the majority of work tasks, and many managers fall into that trap. But when you pressure the good employees, itcan create confusion, since It makes them feel that they are being punished for doing a good job.

Working overtime and excessive pressure have the opposite effect on productivity. A study from Stanford University shows that employee productivity deteriorates markedly every time a work week exceeds 50 hours. If a working week exceeds 55 hours, the productivity of the employees decreases so much that in reality they no longer produce anything usable.

If you want to increase the workload of a skilled employee, it is also a good idea to give the employee credit for the effort. Talented employees will be happy to take on more and more challenging work tasks if they are rewarded with, for example, more freedom, and salary supplements or a promotion. If you simply change the workload because the employee is talented, the employee will seek another position where the personreceives what they deserves.

You do not recognize and reward the good work of employees

It is easy to underestimate the effect of giving an employee credit for their efforts. Especially when your employees are top performers, who are generally motivated without outside incentives. But everyone likes recognition, especially the employees who shows extra efforts in the workplace.

You need to find out what motivates your employees and gives them the feeling that they are valued. For one employee may be a pay rise, for another may be public recognition. Whatever the employees prefer, a good manager should remember to reward if the employees have done a good job.

You do not show interest in the employees

More than half of those who leave their jobs do so because of the relationship they have with their manager. Skilled organizations make sure to have leaders who can figure out how to balance combinations of being professional and human. It is precisely such leaders who remember to celebrate an employee when he is successful, but also have empathy for the same employee when he is going through a difficult time. This kind of leader can also figure out how to challenge the employee, even when it seems unmanageable.

If you are not interested in your employees, you will always have a higher staff turnover. It is almost impossible to have an eight-hour workday in a workplace where the manager does not get involved in the general well-being of the employees, but instead worries about results.

You do not act in accordance with an agreement

When you make an agreement with an employee, it is crucial that you comply with the agreement. If you keep the agreements made with an employee, you will be valued by the employees because you prove that you are reliable – which is a very important quality of a manager.

But if you ignore your agreements, you are hard to trust. It has the effect in the workplace that others also find it difficult to keep their agreements. Because if the manager can not figure out how to keep his agreements, why should everyone else do it?

You hire and promote the wrong people

Good and hard-working employees want to work with like-minded colleagues. When you can not bother to find and hire good employees, it seems demotivating to colleagues.

Giving a promotion to the wrong employee is even worse. When an employee makes a persistent effort at work, only to see another receive the promotion, it can feel like an insult. It can make good employees leave their position.

You do not let employees pursue what they are passionate about

Talented employees are often passionate, and giving them an opportunity to pursue their passion increases their productivity and job satisfaction. But many managers prefer employees to work in a specific area. These managers fear that productivity will fall if they offer the employee flexibility. Studies show that people who have the opportunity to pursue their passion at work generally are more productive than the norm.

You do not develop employee competencies

When managers don’t give their employees a lot of attention, it often means that the managers have trust in their employees, to work very independently. But this is not always the right solution. Successful managerslead their team, no matter how talented their employees are. They pay attention to the employees, listen and give feedback to them.

When you have a talented employee, it is your responsibility to find new areas where the employee can improve and develop his or her competencies. If not, the employee will start to get bored and start looking for new opportunities.

You do not encourage creativity

The most talented employees strive to improve themselves as much as possible. Taking away the opportunity for change and improvement because you are most comfortable with the state of things can cause your employees to lose motivation. Capturing the natural desire to create not only limits employees, it also limits yourself and your company.

You do not challenge your employees

Good managers challenge their employees to achieve goals that seem unthinkable at first. Instead of setting boring gradual goals, good managers set ambitious goals that push people out of their comfort zone. After that, the manager should do everything they can to help the employee succeed. Because when talented and intelligent employees do something that is too easy or boring, they start looking for other jobs that may challenge them in a more intellectual way.

What is a CV and what Should it contain?

The CV must be considered as an appendix to the actual application and is a very important part of the application – if you do not send a curriculum vitae, you can be sure that many companies will not consider your application at all.

What is the purpose of a CV?

So, what is a CV and what is the purpose? The purpose of the curriculum vitae is to give the potential employer a quick overview of your education, work experience, skills, courses, and personal information. Therefore, the CV must be easy to read and accurately worded.

The difference between application and CV

Now you know more about what is a CV, but what is the difference between the actual application and the CV?The main difference between the application and the CV is that the curriculum vitae is a detailed document of your past experiences and qualifications. The application itself is forward-looking and an argumentation for why you should have the job.

What should a CV contain?

There are many ways to write a curriculum vitae and the perfect recipe of what should a CV contain does not exist, since it depends on what the company and employer are looking for. But we have put down an ultimate guide and we’ll teach you what is a CV and what should a CV contain. 

  • Personal data (name, address, telephone number, marital status, date of birth / year and e-mail)
  • Work experience / previous jobs, including job function, areas of responsibility, results obtained and other relevant information
  • Personal skills
  • Organizational experience
  • Education
  • Relevant courses and continuing education
  • Language skills and IT skills
  • Experience abroad
  • Other personal information

What should an application contain?

Now you know what is a CV and what should a CV contain, but now you need to focus on writing an application, to tell the company what you can contribute to the specific position. A good application is one page, where you clarify the match between your competencies and the specific tasks you must solve. 

An application should include:

  • A catchy headline
  • An introduction
  • Your motivation to apply for the job
  • A short conclusion.

80% of employers read your CV before your application, which is why it is a good investment to focus more on your curriculum vitae.

What is the typical mistakes in a CV?

The most typical mistakes people make while writing a CV is that they use almost the same profile over and over again. It is important that you adapt your resume depending on the job you are applying for and make sure that relevant competencies are clearly stated in relation to the job. 

It is also important that you do not avoid to mention any experience in the past, even if you have had a job which only lasted for 3 months. You can not choose the content of your resume yourself – you will have to stand by the experience you have had. If you are exposed in the fact that you have changed important information in your curriculum vitae, or lying about the start and end times for your employment, you risk being disqualified.

Be yourself in your CV

The style of your profile tells more about you than you think. It is important that you stick to a style that is true to you as a person, since it will reflect you and your personality. Use a professional and easy to understand language, and do not use too many foreign words. 

The curriculum vitae is a very important part in the application. Therefore, it would be a good idea to consider getting help from a professional company who know everything about what is a resume and what a resume should contain. They can help you write a catchy resume which will get you considered in the application process and get you closer to getting your dream job.