There are plenty of ways to make a mistake when drafting a résumé. Take advice from Amanda Augustine, career-advice expert for TopResume, in order to ensure that you're representing yourself in a way that will impress recruiters.
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Dan Ariely is the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University and author of "Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations." He discusses what's known as the "Ikea Effect."
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The first day at your new job may be among the most memorable — and perhaps stressful — of your career.
"Most of us remember our first days at every job because of the heightened pressure to impress," says Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert and the author of "Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job.""But you can reduce your anxiety by being as meticulous in planning your first day as you were in securing your new position."
David Parnell, a legal consultant and communication expert, says it's easy, even tempting, to passively ride along with the "human resources tour that usually sets off the first day of employment." There will be forms to fill out, videos to watch, people to meet, "and generally speaking, no real position-specific responsibilities," he says. "But taking a passive versus proactive response would be a mistake. The first day sets the tone for the rest of your career with those who you'll be interacting with."
Here are 26 things you should do on the first day of your new job:
Mark Strong, a life, career, and executive coach based in New York, says although you should spend much of your first day listening, you can and should ask questions when necessary. "Generally, you're trying to demonstrate your curiosity and desire to learn," he says.
Taylor says it's a good idea to prepare by writing down both practical and general questions about how you can be most successful in the role. "By now you have enough background on the company to integrate more in-depth questions at your orientation meetings," she says. "Have a list of questions handy for managers you think you might meet. Make sure you also have a contact in HR in case you have very basic inquiries before you start or on your first day."
Get ready to give a 30-second explainer of who you are and where you were before, as many new colleagues will likely ask about your previous place of employment, Taylor says. Be prepared to also describe what you'll be doing in this new position, since there may be people who have a vague understanding of your role or simply want to strike up a conversation.
Get there at least 15 minutes early, suggests career expert Teri Hockett. "If you haven't done the commute before, practice it a couple of times during rush hour a week before so that you're at least somewhat prepared for the unknown." But wait at a nearby coffee shop until the time your new boss or HR asked you to arrive.
Two of the more important factors in succeeding at a job are to not only get along with your coworkers, but also to associate with the right ones, Parnell explains. "In any sizeable work environment you will find cliques, and some mesh better with management than others. If you want to eventually move up in the ranks with your new employer, you'll need to associate with the right crowd."
He says it's also essential that you begin to determine the office politics on day one. "Power is an interesting, quite important, and sometimes elusive thing in the work environment," he says. "Certainly it is vital to understand the articulated positional hierarchy in your organization — who answers to who. This should be as easy as reading your coworker's titles. However, because power can manifest in so many different ways, it is imperative to understand who actually answers to who."
While you're being strategic, also remember to relax on your first day so that you can optimize your productivity. "Make sure you're well rested, prepared, and have every reason to be on time. This is a visible milestone, and you want to be at your best," Taylor says.
"It may have taken awhile to reach this point, after searching, interviewing, and landing the job, so don't forget to be happy and enjoy the moment," Hockett says.
Strong agrees, saying: "We all know that first impressions matter. Smile when you meet new people and shake their hands. Introduce yourself to everyone and make it clear how happy and eager you are to be there. Your coworkers will remember."
When in doubt, take the conservative approach in how you dress and what you say and do. Be as professional as you were in the interview process.
Hockett suggests you determine the dress code in advance so that you don't look out of place on your first day. "This is important because sometimes the way we dress can turn people off to approaching us, or it sends the wrong message." Ideally, you want to blend in and make others and yourself comfortable. If you're not sure what the dress code is, call the HR department and ask.
Say "Hi" and introduce yourself to everyone you can.
One of the most invaluable insights you can get in the beginning is how the department operates from the perspective of your peers. If you establish that you're friendly and approachable early on, you will start on the right foot.
Figure out where the restrooms are, where the kitchen is, and where your boss sits.
Learning where these things or people are can actually be a great opportunity to introduce yourself to new colleagues. Don't walk around aimlessly — say hi and ask.
Go a step further and try to make a friend on day one. "Beyond generally talking to peers and getting the lay of the land, it's always a good to connect with a fellow team member or two on your first day, even if it's just for 10 minutes," says Taylor. "Beginning a new job can be stressful at any level, and this practice can be very grounding, accelerating your ability to get up to speed faster in a foreign atmosphere."
Let your colleague(s) know that you're available to lend a helping hand. A little goodwill goes a long way. The positive energy and team spirit you exude will be contagious, and the best time to share that is early on, versus later, when you need people.
The urge to impress can take you off-track, so remember that you're already hired — you don't have to wow your new colleagues, Taylor says. It's every new employee's dream to hear that people noted how brilliant and personable they are, or how they seem to "get" the company so quickly. But that can be a lot of wasted energy; you'll impress naturally — and more so once you understand the ropes.
"If you're offered to go have lunch with your new boss and coworkers, go," Hockett says. "It's important to show that you're ready to mingle with your new team — so save the packed lunch for another day."
You may be required to attend a few training sessions or an orientation on day one. Whatever you do, don't skip them.
If you have a lot going on, create calendar reminders or put a Post-It note on your desk.
It's important that you not seem flaky or irresponsible on your first day. Plus, these sessions will help bring you up to speed and if you skip them, you may quickly fall behind.
The best thing anyone can do in the first few days of a new job is "listen, listen, and listen," Strong says. "It's not time to have a strong opinion. Be friendly, meet people, smile, and listen."
This is a prime opportunity to hear about the goals your boss and others have for the company, the department, and top projects. It's your chance to grasp the big picture, as well as the priorities. "Be prepared to take lots of notes," Taylor suggests.
You will be observed more in your early days from an external standpoint, Taylor says. Your attitude and work ethic are most visible now, as no one has had a chance to evaluate your work skills just yet. Everyone wants to work with enthusiastic, upbeat people — so let them know that this is exactly what they can expect.
On your first day, your employer will have a description of your responsibilities — either written or verbal. This is what you should do to be successful at your job. "With that being said, there is usually a gap between what you should do and what actually happens," Parnell says. "This is important because while you shouldn't neglect any articulated duties, there may be more that are implicitly expected of you. It is usually best to find this out sooner rather than later."
A previous article on Business Insider points out that you should take some time to learn both the written and unwritten rules of the office. For instance, find out who washes the dishes in the sink, or which shelves are communal.
You don't want to violate a rule on day one and end up on anyone's bad side.
You'll likely be introduced to many people, and while they may make the first attempt to learn a little about you, make an effort to find out about them and their role. It's not just flattering, it will help you do your job better, Taylor says.
You need to be 100% present at work, especially on the first day. Put your phone away and avoid using it.
Don't decide you don't like your cube mate because he didn't say "hi" the moment you walked in. Don't tell yourself that taking the job was a huge mistake because you don't immediately love the culture.
Yes, first impressions are often accurate and can be hard to ignore — but you should give everyone (and everything) a chance. Try to keep an open mind and maintain a positive attitude.
Your body language makes up the majority of your communication in the workplace. Assess what you're communicating to better understand how others may perceive you and make any necessary adjustments.
In a previous article on Business Insider, Goudreau wrote: "Especially because a lot of new information is coming your way, setting good habits and being organized from the start will make your life easier down the line. It's also a good time to improve your bad habits."
"This might sound obvious at face value, but on your first day of work, you'll likely be pulled in a thousand directions," says Taylor. You want to make sure you're accessible to your new boss first and foremost on your this day, despite all the administrative distractions.
"This is an important first impression you don't want to discount," she adds. "Companies are not always as organized as they'd like when onboarding staff. You can easily get caught up with an HR professional, various managers or coworkers — or with a special assignment that keeps you from being available to the person who matters most." On your first day of work, check in with your manager throughout the day.
"Think of ways to be relaxed and project yourself as who you are," Taylor says. "It's stressful to try to be someone else, so why bother? You want some consistency in who you are on day one and day 31. If you have the jitters, pretend you're meeting people at a business mixer or in the comfort of your own home, and that these are all friends getting to know each other. That's not far from the truth; you'll be working closely with them and enjoy building the relationship, so why not start now?"
Thank anyone who helped you get acclimated throughout the day. Thank your new boss again for giving you the opportunity to join their team. You don't have to go over the top — but express gratitude wherever you see fit.
The last thing to remember is that while the first day at a new job is very important, you shouldn't be too hard on yourself if it doesn't go flawlessly. "You might look back on your performance on day one and second-guess yourself,"Taylor says. "Yes, you should prepare and try to do your best, but remember that if you try to accomplish too much, you may get overwhelmed. Know that there's always tomorrow."
SEE ALSO: 13 things successful people do between jobs
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Brexit has instilled a certain amount of uncertainty in the British job market.
Back in February, more than 40% of British employers were already fearing that Brexit would make it harder for them to employ the right people to work for their companies.
In the United Kingdom, we have a huge shortage of skills, which is why hiring managers tend to prefer hiring from outside of Britain.
After all, European nationals are more likely to have a masters, or post-doctoral degree, and can generally speak more than one language.
That being said, the skill gap in the United Kingdom also means that there are opportunities available for those willing to update their skillset. Not only will learning these skills make you catch the eye of hiring managers, but it will also put you ahead of the competition.
From coding to learning new languages, or simply knowing how to improve your CV in a way which will catch the eye of potential employers, we've rounded up the skills everyone should have on their CV post-Brexit.
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Not only is Ruby on Rails sought after in the tech industry, it's also easy to learn. "The Complete Ruby on Rails Developer Course" will help anyone go from novice to expert at creating beautiful, fully-functional websites. In other words, learning Ruby On Rails might be the easiest way to set you apart from the crowd in the job market post-Brexit.
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We've lauded this course before, and we stand by it. For those who don't have the cash to splurge on a time-consuming MBA, this course is the perfect option. Professor Haroun is the highest rated Udemy lecturer, so you can feel confident that you're getting the best possible education.
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Dan Ariely is the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University and author of "Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations." He discusses how to tell if it's the right time to look for a new job.
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Sophia Bera, CFP and founder of Gen Y Planning, explains her best financial advice for 30-somethings. It's something wealthy people do all the time.
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Lilliana Vazquez, style expert and founder of The LV Guide, discusses when a man can wear jogger sweatpants outside of his apartment and in the workplace.
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The Economic Policy Institute calculated income inequality in the US by state, metropolitan area, and county. This map shows how much annual income a family needs to earn to be considered in the top .01% of their state otherwise known as the top 1% of the 1%.
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On average, hiring managers get 75 résumés per position they post, according to a study from CareerBuilder.com — so they don't have the time or resources to look at each one closely, and they typically spend about six seconds on their initial "fit/no fit" decision, according to career networking site TheLadders.
If you want to pass that test, you need to have some solid qualifications — and the perfect résumé to highlight them.
Here are nine things you should never include on your résumé.
Produced by Arielle Berger. Original reporting by Jacquelyn Smith and Rachel Gillett.
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Dan Ariely is the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University and author of "Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations." He discusses how focusing on the process instead of the outcome helps lead to success.
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Not everybody is a people person.
If this sounds like you, then your best approach for finding a job could be searching for work where people skills aren't all that necessary.
To find these jobs, we averaged data from the Occupational Information Network, or O*NET, a US Department of Labor database full of detailed information on 974 occupations.
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It’s rare for a woman to make it to the very top of a large corporation these days, and it’s rare for an adult human to have blond hair.
But blond women are far more likely to end up a chief executive or U.S. senator than women with any other color hair, according to recent research from two business-school professors at the University of British Columbia.
Just 2 percent of the world’s population and 5 percent of white people in the U.S. have blond hair, but 35 percent of female U.S. senators and 48 percent of female CEOs at S&P 500 companies are blond.
Female university presidents are more likely to be blond, too.
Jennifer Berdahl and Natalya Alonso, who presented their research at the Academy of Management’s annual meeting early this month, say some of this blond overrepresentation can be explained by race and age biases in leadership pipelines.
Blond hair is primarily found in white people, and white people take up a disproportionate amount of space in the top tiers of business and politics, so it makes sense that there are a disproportionate number of blondes.
And children are more likely to be blond than adults, meaning the trait signals youthfulness. But whatever blond privilege may exist in the upper echelons of power, it doesn’t apply to men: A study published in 2005 revealed that just over 2 percent of male Fortune 500 CEOs were blond.
There would seem to be a paradox between the age-old stereotype of the dumb blonde and this preference for blondes in leadership positions. But on her blog, Berdahl suggests that the two concepts aren’t so contradictory after all—the dumb blonde paradigm might actually explain blond overrepresentation.
“Our data suggest that blonde women are not only assumed to be younger than their darker haired counterparts, but are also judged to be less independent-minded and less willing take a stand than other women and than men,” she writes. “In other words, Barbie can be CEO as long as she is young and/or docile, or being blonde might allow her to be older and more forceful than she otherwise could be.”
Of course, many women—especially those around the age of the average CEO or senator—dye their hair, so there are far more people with blond-looking hair than naturally occurs. Still, that dyed proportion wouldn’t come close to accounting for one in three female senators or one in two female CEOs being blonde. Berdahl told the Huffington Post that a beefed-up dyed-blonde population would do more to support her conclusions than disprove them.
“If women are choosing to dye their hair blonde, there’s something strategic about the choice,” she said. “If the package is feminine, disarming and childlike, you can get away with more assertive, independent and [stereotypically] masculine behavior.”
In their research, Berdahl and Alonso got 100 men to rate photos of blond and brunette women on attractiveness, competence, and independence.
The two groups of women scored equally on the first measure, but blondes fared worse on the latter two.
Then, the men were shown photos of the same woman with blond hair and brown hair.
The majority chose to recommend the brunette over the blonde for a job as a CEO or senator.
But when the men had to rate dominant-sounding female leaders—photos of the same woman with blond or brown hair, paired with quotes like “My staff knows who the boss is”—they thought the blond woman was warmer and more attractive than her brunette twin. Berdahl’s blog calls this “the Glinda-the-Good-Witch effect.”
The conclusion of these studies—that people are better able to stomach a female leader if they perceive her to be gentler, less demanding, and weaker-willed than her dark- or gray-haired peers—aligns with earlier research on black men in positions of power.
A study published in 2009 found that black male Fortune 500 CEOs weremore likely to have baby-faced traits (a round face, large forehead, and smaller nose) than their peer CEOs, while a previous study showed that white men are lesslikely to make it to top spots in business if they had those traits.
Researchers posited that people felt more comfortable with a black man in charge if he had a “disarming,” “nonthreatening” appearance.
White men seem to be the only ones who can’t look or act too threatening for their positions of power, probably because we’re used to seeing them there. If someone says “my staff knows who the boss is,” I’d usually guess it’s the white guy.
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Aside from the obvious — like profanity and insults — here are the words and phrases you should never utter to your boss.
These are the bad habits you most likely cling to but should rid yourself of. It will enhance your productivity and make you feel better.
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We gave a career advice expert some real résumés and let her go to work with the red pen. It didn't go so well. Amanda Augustine from TopResume points out some big mistakes.
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Career advice expert for TopResume Amanda Augustine says that in her findings 50% of recruiters look at cover letters. Be sure to include these things in your letter to stand out.
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Professional email etiquette can be a minefield. You don't want to be stuffy and formal, but appearing overly casual with colleagues or clients doesn't make a great impression either.
We asked business etiquette experts to offer some insight into common email closings to see what most of us were during wrong.
Turns out, it's a lot.
Produced by Arielle Berger. Original reporting by Jacquelyn Smith.
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Shake Shack founder and CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, Danny Meyer, started his first restaurant at 27. He looks back at the biggest mistake he made in the early years of his career as a restaurateur.
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While many large companies use automated résumé-screener software to cut down the initial pool of job applicants, loading your résumé with meaningless buzzwords is not the smartest way to get noticed.
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"New year, new city?" If you're in the market for a fresh start and a new job, you may want to consider adopting this motto.
But not just any new city will do.
As it turns out, places like Miami and Salt Lake City are better for job seekers than New York City and Los Angeles right now, according to personal-finance site WalletHub.
To narrow down the 20 best cities for finding a job in 2017, WalletHub compared the 150 most populous US cities based on 23 metrics (like job opportunities, employment growth, monthly median salary, and safety) across two key dimensions (job market and socioeconomic environment, with a greater emphasis on the former).
To read more about the study's methodology, check out the full report here.
Continue scrolling to see the top 20 cities:
SEE ALSO: Amazon, IBM, and 8 other big companies hiring for high-paying jobs like crazy right now
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No. of job opportunities rank (out of 150): 72
Employment growth: 2.19%
Median annual household income: $53,915
While San Jose has some of the least affordable housing, its younger residents have some of the lowest annual transportation costs and highest monthly median starting salaries to make up for it.
No. of job opportunities rank (out of 150): 25
Employment growth: 0.14%
Median annual household income: $77,006
With a low number of employed residents living below the poverty line and a high number of them having health benefits, Overland Park ranks No. 19 overall.
No. of job opportunities rank (out of 150): 83
Employment growth: -3.30%
Median annual household income: $55,211
Gilbert ranks highly for safety (No. 1), employee benefits (No. 3), and housing affordability (No.5).
