How a Game Designers Interview Blunder Led Him to Conquer the World

How a Game Designer’s Interview Blunder Led Him to Conquer the World I can’t believe I just said that… I’d be interested to see statistics on what percentage of job interviewees have suffered such a thought. And I wonder how often the interviewer even noticed or was bothered by the interviewer’s supposed gaff. Twenty-two years ago, a young Tim Schafer made a big gaff…and the interviewer certainly noticed. But after some creative thinking, he landed the job. Today, he’s a computer game industry icon. Check out these excerpts from his fantastic blog (where you can even see copies of his rejection letters for even more inspiration!): My job hunt was getting kind of depressing. I was building up a pile of rejection letters, most of them from jobs I didn’t even want. But then, one bright summer day, I walked into the campus career center and saw this. That’s the original posting for the “Assistant Designer / Programmer” position at Lucasfilm, Games Division. I called David Fox right away and scribbled all the notes you see while I was talking to him. I told him how much I wanted to work at Lucasfilm, not because of Star Wars, but because I loved, “Ball Blaster.” “Ball Blaster, eh?” he said. “Yeah! I love Ball Blaster!” I said. It was true. I had broken a joystick playing that game on my Atari 800. “Well, the name of the game is Ball Blazer.” Mr. Fox said, curtly. “It was only called Ball Blaster in the pirated version.” Gulp. Totally busted. It was trueâ€"I had played the pirated version. There, I said it… The rest of the phone call didn’t go much better. But at the end of it, David told me to send in my resume, along with a cover letter describing my ideal job. Since I figured I had blown the interview, I had nothing to lose. So I did my cover letter in the form of a semi-graphic adventure. It worked. What we can learn from Tim’s application: 1) Know how to sell your strengths: Tim could easily have penned a typical cover letter, but his creativity wouldn’t nearly have been apparent. Granted, the traditional cover email/CV combination is more appropriate for the vast majority of positions. But candidates must still use these mediums to demonstrate their skills and capabilities. That’s why we’ve given candidates the option to attach multi-media work samples to their Innovate CV. After all, sometimes a candidate needs to go beyond ‘telling’ and start ‘showing’ in order to stand out. 2. Exclusive applications: I’d be willing to bet that Lucas Films were more taken aback by Tim’s sincerity than by his creativity. After all, this wasn’t merely a creative application that Lucas Arts had received…along with a hundred other companies. Tim’s application was designed and created exclusively for them! Imagine that. Hiring staff can tell immediately tell when they’re receiving a generic CV (as good as it may be) versus a customised CV. The tailored approach takes into account the industry, organisation, and position. When candidates respectively make the effort to personalise an application, they present themselves as a far more professional and thoughtful. Innovate CV’s management system allows you to easily oversee your various CVs. 3. Play with the rules: Lucas Film’s asked Tim to submit ‘a cover letter describing [his] ideal job.’ Tim understood that they likely wanted to ascertain his writing skills and creativity. So with that in mind, he took a risk, and took a different route. Hiring managers want the best, and unless the organisation is stuck in her procedure, they don’t mind if candidates break the rules to stand out. Read between the lines to determine where you have space to try something different. But of course, know your limits. Common sense applies. 4. Be proactive, even if when it hurts: Tim’s job hunt wasn’t going well, yet he persisted. His proactive visit to a campus career centre led him to his dream opportunity. Job hunting is emotionally exhausting. When the lousy jobs even seem out of reach, it’s easy to give up on one’s dreams. There’s a world of gamers out there who are forever grateful that Tim didn’t do just that, no matter how tempting the option may have been. 5. Interviews aren’t everything: Despite a lousy interview, Tim’s fantastic follow-up won him the position. One strike doesn’t mean you’re out. Candidates who struggle in an interview can confidently bounce back. Take stock of what went wrong and remedy the issues with a thoughtfully worded follow-up email or letter. Well done, Tim. Thanks for sharing your story. What else can we learn from Tim? What have been your nightmare interview moments? Related: The 7 Qualities Employees are Looking for in Candidates. Innovate CV  is a free online tool  that lets you create, manage, share  and track your new-generation multimedia CVs.

The Top 100 Companies For Remote Jobs

The Top 100 Companies For Remote Jobs More people are working from home than ever before. 43% of U.S. workers now work remotely at least occasionally, up from only, at the most, 9% of workers in 2007. And remote work has grown far faster than any other commute mode over the last 10 year. “Well, of course!” you’re probably saying. Working remotely even some of the time has been shown to boost productively, reduce stress, and even improve people’s love lives. But if you’re in the market for a remote job, how can you actually go about landing one? FlexJobs has just released its annual list of the 100 Top Companies with Remote Jobs, a list of companies that have offered the most remote job listings over the last year. These companies represent the best of the best in terms of their support for remote work, and they also offer an interesting look at some of the best remote jobs available. Here’s how you can land your own remote job in 2018: 1. Get to know the most common career fields for remote work. According to FlexJobs’ data, certain career fields have higher levels of remote jobs than others. The top career fields for remote work are: Medical and Health Computer and IT Education and Training Sales Customer Service Accounting and Finance Travel and Hospitality And five of the fastest-growing remote career categories are therapy, virtual administration, client services, tutoring, and state and local government. If your career field isn’t on this list, don’t fretit’s based on data from over 50 career fields, all of which contain some remote work opportunities. Do some research to see what’s available in your line of work. 2. Showcase your best remote-friendly skills and experience. Employers with remote jobs want to know that you’ve got what it takes to both do the job itself and do it well while working remotely. To the latter point, use your resume, LinkedIn profile, and interview answers to show them you’ve got excellent remote-compatible skills and experiences. The top skills remote employers seek include digital communication skills, self-motivation, time management and focus, and ease with technology. You don’t have to be a tech wizard, but you should show you’re open to learning knew tech and troubleshooting basic problems on your own. 3. Research the companies offering the most remote jobs. At the top of this year’s list of remote-friendly companies are VIPKID, Appen, and Conduent, and the list also contains many well-known companies like Dell, Intuit, Williams-Sonoma, Hilton, Toyota, American Express, CVS Health, and others. Taking a peak at each company’s career page will give you insights into their hiring process, what they look for in employees, and of course, which types of remote jobs they have available now. 4. Learn about these common remote job titles. As part of the lead-up to the release of the 100 Top Companies with Remote Jobs, FlexJobs also researched which remote job titles most commonly listed for hire. The top 20 remote job titles show just how much variety exists with remote jobs: Accountant, Program Manager, Teacher / Faculty, Writer, Consultant, Engineer, Project Manager, Business Development Manager, Account Manager / Account Executive, Tutor, Developer, Customer Service Representative, Sales Representative, Analyst, Editor, Nurse, Medical Coder, Territory Sales Manager, Case Manager, and Internet / Social Media Evaluator. 5. Use the best keywords in your online searches. Unfortunately, searching the phrase “work-from-home job” is going to bring back mostly scams as a result. Work-from-home scams are a big problem in the remote job market, and scam companies use that phrase because they know it’s so commonly used by job seekers. Instead, stick with phrases that are more-often used by legitimate employers, such as remote jobs, telecommuting jobs, and virtual jobs. Using keywords like “work flexibility” and “flexible work options” may also help you pinpoint “hidden” remote job opportunities because some companies don’t make it obvious whether they offer remote jobs. Finding a remote job is more possible than ever before, and with a bit of research and some strategic searching, you’ll be on your way to having more control and balance over your work days. This guest post was authored by Brie Reynolds, Senior Career Specialist at FlexJobs.

Keeping Morale High How to Increase Employee Satisfaction

Keeping Morale High How to Increase Employee Satisfaction As a manager, one of the hardest parts of your job is in truly keeping connected with all of your employees to make sure they are happy and engaged at the workplace. If your employees feel like they need to hide their workplace unhappiness, you wont be able to take the specific actions required to keep your team happy and productive. One of the best things you can do as manager is to be preemptive in boosting employee morale. Make your office a place where employees want to be, a place where they feel like they have the space to grow and that they have the support of their coworkers to be creative in their work.   Encourage Discussion In and Out of the Office As in anything, good office place cooperation depends on good communication. Of course, if employees are having problems, they might avoid communicating these problems with each other or with management. Encourage your employees to communicate by providing them a positive environment for communication. A company lounge with couches and an office coffee machine are great ways to get employees to interact at work.   If you catch wind of a problem between employees, head it off quickly by listening to everyones side and inviting all parties to work through the problems with mediation from management or HR. Host regular office functions and events to break up work place monotony and to provide new environments for communication. Encourage individual teams to get together out of the office to discuss work place events in a freer way. Consider sending teams to lunches, retreats, or training sessions at office expense to foster friendships between employees.   Incentivize and Reward Offer your employees concrete incentives based on goals and give rewards for achievements that are above and beyond what is expected. If you are unable to provide financial incentives, consider alternatives. Incentivize with office lunches or Donut Fridays, for example. Or offer to send an employee and/or their team to a conference or training in an interesting location. Similarly, if you cant offer monetary rewards, consider other things. Give personalized gifts, gift cards, a potted plant (consider allergies!), or a desk decoration. Make the Office Comfortable and Welcoming No matter how many incentives and rewards you offer your employees, if your office space is unappealing, it can be hard for employees to overcome their first impressions of your office. Encourage your employees to decorate their spaces and consider allowing them to choose their own seating arrangements so that like-minded people (with similar decoration tastes!) can be near each other. A work space that feels personal will help employees feel comfortable, motivated, and inspired. Invest in higher quality, more comfortable furniture and be aware of specific employee needs. Dont give the short lady a chair that has her swinging her feet above the ground and the tall lady a desk that she has to bend over to use! If you have the space and extra money, consider improving employee break areas with comfortable chairs, art for the walls, or maybe even video games or a ping pong table. And dont overlook the little things. Make sure your custodians are keeping up with the demands of your office or if your employees are in charge of keeping the office clean, make sure tasks are fairly divided and rotated and that everyone is doing their fair share. Try to situate desks to take advantage of natural lighting. Keep the office a comfortable temperature and allow employees to adjust it. Encourage Leadership Behaviors in Every Employee There are good and bad kinds of stress that can come up in the office. Try to maximize incidents of the positive kind by giving employees opportunities for growth and skill-building. Encourage every employee to develop as a leader by giving them a voice on their team, by offering them constructive feedback, and by ensuring that they are finding ways to play to their strengths. Set regular reviews with each employee where you can ask them to reflect on what they consider their own strengths and weaknesses to encourage introspection in work performance. Identify skills that would be beneficial to each employee and give them opportunities to train in those skills. If you have the flexibility, assign an employee a task that will force them to learn something new or to develop a skill that is not a strength of theirs. You can also offer to pay for classes or online seminars. Give the employees some choice in which skills will be most useful for them to develop as this will encourage them to consider how this job fits into their long-term career plans.

Family Tips for Improving Your Credit Score

Family Tips for Improving Your Credit Score Even if you stay away from borrowing and feel comfortable operating within a strict budget, you still need enough credit. Unless youre independently wealthy, some things will remain beyond your checkbook. Things like cars, houses, starting a business and even trying to get a job require a strong credit score. If mistakes have damaged your score, we all make them; the following family tips will help you undo the carnage and rebuild a respectable credit score. Credit Scores: Low to High Every lender that offers credit sets their limits for what they consider good credit. If you have a low score companies will either deny you altogether or charge you the highest interest rates possible. Lower scores and higher rates mean significantly more money out of your pocket over the term of the loan. That increased expense is unnecessary. Here’s how scores operate at the different levels: 300-580 â€" refused or hammered with high-interest rates. 581-650 â€" you will gain approval but interest rates will be high 651-710 â€" a more acceptable range, more reasonable rates 711-750 â€" now credit companies will often compete for your business, and that means lower rates 751 and higher â€" you have earned your gold status and will receive the best rates possible How to Fix Your Credit Raising your credit score is easier than you might think, although if you have a recent bankruptcy or another type of serious problem on your credit record, the healing will take considerably more time. Without the big problems, you can see progress in as little as a couple of months by following these family tips. Find out where you stand. Check out the big agencies and ask for a copy of your credit report and remember you’re legally entitled to a free copy once a year. Look for mistakes and clean them up. Find a way to pay down credit card debt. Perhaps you could borrow from a family member to reduce the debt on your report. Paying your bills on time is critical. Late payments are a major red flag to lenders. If you have old cards that you never use, do not close the accounts. Closed accounts look bad to creditors. Instead, use them every so often for small purchases, pay the balance quickly, and begin building a respectable reputation for managing your credit. The longer your positive history, the better your credit scores. Keep your credit card balances below the max. You’re better off to have three cards with lower balances than one that is maxed out. If you continually try to get a credit card and are denied, try applying for a secured card. Spending a few dollars up front will help you begin building a solid credit history. Another good way to build credit is to apply for a gas card. Gas station cards are often easier to get and pay off each month, thus evidencing money management skills on your credit report. Families experiencing financial trouble are under stress, and the situation can wreak havoc with everyone concerned. New York family lawyers all have the same opinion that the number one cause of divorce is financial problems. Getting out from under credit debt and repairing your credit score will help alleviate the stress associated with the feelings of pending financial disaster. Every family member will rest easier. It is not difficult to repair credit, but it does take some thoughtful effort and discipline. Follow these family tips and you will be okay. Image Source; Image Source

Her Resume - CareerMetis.com

6 Skills That A Social Media Manager Should Have on His/Her Resume Photo Credit â€" Pixabay.comSocial Media has become the prominent media through which brands can represent their products or services. Social Media, which was non-existent 10 years ago, has become a vital platform for companies to connect with their customers, advertise their products or services and even sell their products or offer their services.With this growth in the importance of social media, the emergence of new roles has also been seen; like the position of Social Media Manager. In this article, we will discuss the skills that are important for a Social Media Manager.As technology and behaviour patterns of end users have changed over the years, new roles and profiles have come up. Social Media Manager is one such profile, which did not even exist some years ago. Nowadays, it is an attractive and reputed position, with social media taking the centre stage of a lot of organisation’s marketing plans.evalHere are 6 skills that will push you towards your dream of becoming a Soc ial Media Manager:1. CreativityWhat makes a content go viral in social media?One of the ingredients for viral content is creativity. Creative visual and video content are always important in getting the right amount of engagement from the followers. It is important that you show your creative side in the resume to have a better opportunity of getting the position.Followers tend to get bored by content which is repetitive. This is why a Social Media Manager should have the creative bent of mind to create engaging content, engaging campaigns, etc. to keep the followers engaged.2. Strategy, planning, and executionSocial Media Managers are associated with the planning of social calendars and they should know what kind of strategy the brand should adopt to have better engagements. Social Media is not just about posting daily and waiting to get engagements. One should understand what type of posts or content would strike the right chord with the followers.You must have the skills to be ab le to understand your followers, what they like and what they expect from the brand. Accordingly, you can plan your content strategy to attract their attention and in turn, increase the engagement levels. Also, a strategy is as good as its execution. Not knowing how to execute can even turn a great plan into a common one.3. Analytical abilitiesHow will you know if your campaigns have fared well or not? This is when your analytical skills will come into play. What is your return on investment, if you have used paid campaigns?evalA good Social Media Manager will have the data to back his/her claims and show if the campaigns are effective. Nowadays, the social media platforms have their own analytical tools, through which you can make informed decisions and pull out data to analyse the effectiveness of your content.4. Communication SkillsCommunication is not only about your dealing with the team members or other members of your marketing division, but also how you communicate with the followers. The headlines or the call to action needs to be captivating so that the followers are motivated enough to click. This requires you to have good copywriting skills or understanding of copywriting.You will also need the skills to keep your team motivated and the management informed. All of this requires the right communication abilities as that of a leader.5. Community ManagementSocial Media is all about reaching out to the customers in a way that you have a closer connection. So, post it and forget it is not a healthy practice; one should be very observant and respond to any queries honestly and quickly. Quick and honest replies are a sure way to get on the good side of your customers.evalIf you cannot solve some problems, escalate it to the person who has the authority to. It is important to learn how to respond to trolls and negative feedback so as to not harm the brand image.6. Stay Up-to-date With Latest TechnologiesThere are periodic changes in the technology associat ed with social media. There is also the fear that your audience may start migrating to a new platform. It is necessary to have an idea of the new technologies and platforms available in the market in order to quickly take the advantage any platform has to offer in the future.Are you interested in a Social Media career?Do you have these skills on your resume?It is not late to start a course in Social Media and get the required skills needed to become a Social Media Manager.

Essential survival tips for your first job - CareerEnlightenment.com

Essential survival tips for your first job When you have landed your first ever job, you might feel like the hardest part is over, but you still have to handle those first days, weeks and months in an unfamiliar environment surrounded by new people who you need to impress. There are many potential pitfalls but also lots of opportunities to shine and to prove that the company did the right thing by hiring you.But what are the best ways to do this? If only there was an instruction manual for getting through your first job’s early days with flying colors. Luckily, Budget Direct has come up with one and here are some of the top tips:Have an elevator pitch readyIt wasn’t just your job interview where you needed to have a snappy elevator pitch about yourself. When you meet new people at your work, there isn’t the same obvious pressure to prove yourself worthy, but you will still want to make a good impression. Keep your elevator pitch to around 30 seconds and make sure you come across as enthusiastic and positive about being there.Take feedback onboardA new experience you’ll undoubtedly encounter in your first job is when your manager sits you down and gives you feedback on your performance so far. Hopefully, you’ll have worked hard and done well, but there might still be room for improvement, so you’ll need to react in a good way. Make sure you listen attentively, don’t react angrily no matter what is said and questions to help you move forward and build on the feedback. Want to Read More Articles Like This One?Sign up here to receive weekly updates from Career Enlightenment, and never miss another powerful job searching tip! SUBSCRIBE! You have Successfully Subscribed!We hate spam too. Unsubscribe any time. Ask for helpWe’ve all been there. You’re sat at your desk or workstation with no idea what to do to resolve a problem, you’re embarrassed because you feel like people will judge you for needing help. But the worst thing you can do is let that fear paralyze you because it’s much less impressive to waste your employer’s time and money not achieving anything at all. Instead, give it a go and if you really are stuck, find someone who can help you.You can see all of the tips in this illustrated guide from Budget Direct, which will get you ready to take on the world and get your career off to a flying start.

Writing Language Skills on Resume - Why Are Writing Skills Important?

Writing Language Skills on Resume - Why Are Writing Skills Important?If you are seeking a job and are thinking about self-referral or a college education for yourself, then you should seriously consider what kind of writing skills are necessary for a resume. For many years, resumes were simply paper forms with vague paragraphs but more recent methods have been a move towards preparing a rich resume that contains both a current and an established career path.People will be hiring and thus the market will dictate which jobs you will be suitable for and which you should pass up. Using the wrong resume can cost you the job as will using the right resume but not enough to get noticed. A good resume is one that describes in details your best job skills and abilities that are relevant to the position you are applying for.A good resume is one that explains in detail what your career goals are and also where you hope to be in the next year or two. Writing fluently and clearly is one of the mo st important skills when it comes to resumes. The writing needs to be clear and presentable but concise at the same time. The material should be in a professional format yet convey the proper impression that it wants to impart to your future employer.When an employer gets your resume, they want to know if you have updated your skills or if you are just bringing in new information. You need to be able to provide them with a very detailed list of all your skill sets but make sure they are organized by year so they are easy to spot. The resume needs to be concise and to the point so the employer knows exactly what your expertise is.The resume should also contain job skills that are current, such as all your accomplishments in the past few months. Also, the job skills need to be updated annually based on experience and the needs of the employer. When an employer looks at your resume they want to know if you have done anything significant to enhance your skills or ifyour skills have impr oved since you took the position.One thing you need to realize when considering these skills is that your job skills must be applicable to the position you are applying for. No matter how much experience you have, if the position is a secondary position then you should only use those skills that pertain to the primary position. This is because no one wants to hire someone that is under qualified and they will wonder why they are paying you for a job that you don't have.The resume is not the only factor that an employer is going to see when looking for a person to fill the position. Their job is to find out whether or not the employer needs to do a re-tooling or if they have to change their entire business. They want to make sure that they hire someone who is already doing the job they want them to do. The resume is a quick piece of paper and it is to be expected that employers are going to take a closer look.Resumes are one of the most important documents that you need to submit to any company. These documents are the next thing you should send along to make sure that they do not forget who you are and how well you speak the language. Make sure you have the best resume possible to give them what they need to know.