Movies. Do you enjoy movies?
I know I do. Or more specifically, I enjoy some movies and some movies I do not want.
Question: How do you know what movies to see and what movies not to see?
Answer: Use Movie reviews
Reviews
I find reviews can be a tool that can help people. Reviews can give you more information about the movie. Movie reviews can provide more information about a film to help you determine if you wish to see the film or not.
The same for a potential employer
Reviews on companies from current and past employees can give a person additional information on a potential employer. The review may provide more details about the inner culture of that company.
Evaluate the information
You need to evaluate the reviews you read – you have to assess the information, like all information you may read.
Places you can find employee company reviews
Here are some places that you can find reviews about working for a potential company.
Indeed.com
Indeed.com is a website that lists job positions. A person can access Indeed.com to find job openings that may work for them. Indeed.com gives access to reviews on companies.
Here are some different ways to access company reviews.
Go to indeed.com
Indeed.com gives you different ways to access reviews.
Browse Companies (towards the bottom of the screen)
You can scroll down to the bottom of the page.
You will then see the link that says “Browse Companies.”
You will then get a “Browse companies by name” screen.
You use the company name and the alphabet to find the company information.
You then may find company reviews once you find the company.
“Company Reviews” link (towards the top of the screen)
On top of the Indeed.com home screen, you will see a link that says “Company Reviews.”
Click the link “Company Reviews.”
You then will get a screen that says, “Find great places to work: Get access to millions of company reviews” you can search for a company in the search box name “Company name or job title.”
Type in the company name, and you may find review information.
Job Positions
You may access review information directly from a job position
When you see a particular job position, you can see the company name under the job title.
Next to the company’s name, you can see
a number (for the job position on the left part of the screen) or
the words “reviews” (for the job position on the right part of the screen)
You can click the number or the word “reviews” to find review information about the company.
Glassdoor (www.glassdoor.com)
Glassdoor is a website that gives information about jobs; people can access Glassdoor to find job positions.
Glassdoor will also allow you to access reviews about the company.
Go to www.glassdoor.com.
You then will need to create an account to access the information (accounts are free).
You then will have a screen giving a search box on top of the screen
Type in the company you want more information on.
You will then get a short menu under the search box.
One choice will be “Reviews.”
Select that choice, and you may find review information.
Google
You can type in Google for company review information.
Employee review
To find employee review information, type the company’s name you want to find information on along with the phrase “Employee review.” You may then get choices of employee review information on that company.
Customer reviews
You may also find it helpful to find customer review information on that company; what do customers think about the company.
You can type in the company you want to find information on and then type in the word “review.” You may find customer review information on a company.
Reviews from employees (past and current) may give you information about a company. Reviews may help you from working for an employer who is a (Bleep) (Bleep).
Live Your Life Learning Blog
Calendly is a tool used in sales to have prospects make appointments with salespeople. Salespeople use Calendly to increase the odds the prospect will make an appointment. If Calendly works in sales, why not job hunting?
Problem with phone messages
Have you ever had the following occur?
- Your phone rings, but you cannot pick it up. You check your voice mail later to hear a message from someone asking you to call them.
- You call the person from the voice mail, except the person not available, so you leave a voice-mail message on their phone asking that the other person call you back.
- The other person calls you back, but you are unavailable, so the other person leaves a voice mail message asking you to call them.
- You call them, and they are not available, so you leave a voice mail message on their phone.
And so, the pattern continues, you and the other person play a game of phone tag where each person cannot reach the other person.
Is there are a way to reduce the odds of playing phone tag?
Well, yes, you may solve the phone tag with the following solution.
The solution is using a website called Calendly www.calendly.com
Calendly allows you to have another person schedule an appointment by which you can meet the other person. You specify the time frames by which you can accept an appointment, and the other person can make an appointment to see you. Calendly can connect people without the game of phone tag.
Calendly works in the following way:
- You create an account on Calendly at the website www.calendly.com
- You then create an event page to describe the event and the time frames by which you can accept an appointment. The event page will be the screen that another person will see when they make an appointment to see you.
- You then will get an Internet link that will connect to your event page.
- You then can use the Internet link in communication with a potential employer. The potential employer can use the Internet link to connect with your event page.
- The potential employer then could make an appointment to see you using Calendly.
Calendly may work with a potential employer when you are using e-mail (or other similar communications that will support Internet links). Calendly may also work for resumes and cover letters where the complete Internet address link is listed; a potential employer may copy the link into a web browser and then be able to see your event page. The potential employer could then make an appointment.
YouTube explains Calendly
We can find a YouTube video that explains how to use Calendly at:
YouTube Title: How to use Calendly – Tutorial for Beginners (2020)
YouTube Publication When: June 11, 2020
YouTube Channel: Simpletivity
They used Calendly in sales to encourage potential leads to make an appointment with the salesperson; you may use Calendly to have a potential employer make an appointment with you.
Live Your Life Learning Blog
Imagine:
You have a flat tire.
You are driving down the street, and you notice you have a flat tire.
So, you go to the side of the road and use a spare tire to get back on the road quickly.
Sometimes in life, having a spare replacement can be helpful.
When you are doing your job hunting, or make your living online, or a combination of both, you may find it valuable to have a spare, a replacement to get you back on the Internet. Extra replacements in the following may be helpful.
Computer
You may find it valuable to have a spare computer. You may find it helpful to have an extra computer in case your computer fails. You may find a moderately priced laptop computer that will serve your needs.
Telephone
You may find it to your advantage to have a spare telephone in case your phone fails. The extra phone can help you connect with people quickly if your phone fails. You may find a pre-paid phone helpful as an option to keep costs down.
If you use a pre-paid phone, make sure your plan is current
If you use a pre-paid phone, ensure you have enough data, text, and messages in storage to communicate with clients and potential employers.
You will not want to be in the middle of a vital conversation to suddenly end, for you ran out of minutes on your pre-paid phone.
Internet connection
You may find it helpful to have options to re-connect to the Internet if your original Internet connection fails. You can consider the following ideas:
Wi-Fi Hotspot
A Wi-Fi Hotspot is another route by which you can access the Internet for your computer.
YouTube video that explains a hotspot is:
YouTube Title: What is a Hotspot?
YouTube Date: Nov 10, 2019
YouTube Channel: PowerCert Animated Videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktxC3vDukbc
Ways to have a Wi-Fi Hotspot
You may have options in finding a Wi-Fi Hotspot that may work for you. Below are some ideas. You can also search Google using a phrase like “Wi-Fi Hotspots options.” to gain ideas.
You May Need a Mobile Data Plan
You may need mobile data to plan to access the Internet with your Wi-Fi Hotspot. You can search Google with the phrase “Mobile Internet plans for hotspots” for options:
Here are some ideas to have Wi-Fi hotspots.
Your Smartphone
You may use your smartphone as a Wi-Fi Hotspot.
YouTube video that gives ideas is:
YouTube Title: How to Turn Your Phone into a Wi-Fi Hotspot
YouTube Publishing Date: Apr 16, 2021
YouTube Channel: PCMag
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fZG-HtoTbY
Your Computer
You may use your computer as a Wi-Fi hotspot device. Check your individual computer for capabilities to see if this is an option.
A YouTube video that gives ideas is
YouTube Title: How To Turn Windows 10 Computer Into a Wi-Fi Hotspot | Create Wi-Fi Hotspot in Windows 10
YouTube Publishing Date: Apr 5, 2020
YouTube Publisher: ProgrammingKnowledge2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOa25gIAmnQ
Portable Mobile Wi-Fi Device
You can get Portable Mobile Wi-Fit Device to create a Wi-Fi hotspot that you can use to access the Internet.
YouTube video that gives ideas is:
YouTube Title: Best Portable and Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspots in 2021 [Tested & Reviewed]
YouTube Date: May 3, 2020
YouTube Channel: TechEmpire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX1zRWZaAy4
You may find it helpful to have spare devices when using the Internet for job searching, making a living from the Internet, or combining both. A spare can make it possible to recover when something goes wrong and get back to what you were doing.
Live Your Life Learning Blog
Learn from Sales/Recruiting
I sometimes learn more about the job process by reading about sales/recruiting (I am not a recruiter or Human Resources (HR) person myself). The following are my guesses of what I think can improve a job search.
Sales Cadence
I read about a concept called sales cadence.
We can describe sales cadence as:
“a sales cadence is a sequence of different sales activities and methods whose main idea is to establish a contact with a prospect, engage them, and nurture them into becoming your customer. What’s also an indispensable part of any sales cadence is a timeline, that is a frequency of these activities.” (p. 86)
From the Ultimate Cold Email Outreach Playbook by Autoklose. (From https://autoklose.com/books/cold-email-playbook/)
As I understand it, sales cadence is a schedule set along a timeline composed of different ways to contact a prospect. The timeline goes from initial contact to follow-up. The goal of the contacts is to change a prospect into a paying customer. The major methods of contact were the phone and e-mail. An important concept was a follow-up from the initial contact to increase the prospect’s odds of becoming a paying customer.
Could Sale Cadence apply to Job Hunting?
Could there be an ideal “sales cadence” schedule for job hunters? Is there an optimal timeline of activities that a person could do to move a job application to an interview??
My thoughts about the timeline for job-Hunting
Here are my thoughts about a timeline to move from job applicant to interview (not covering steps after an interview).
Get the name for the cover letter (first two contacts with a potential employer)
(Skip the step if already have a name for a cover letter)
- 1st contact with a potential employer
Send an e-mail to Human Resources (or recruiting) to find the name for a cover letter.
- 2nd contact with a potential employer
(After some time) – if you do not receive any information, follow up e-mail with a phone call to Human Resources (or recruiting) to find the name for a cover letter.
(You may not be successful in finding a name to a cover letter)
Apply for the Job Position (3rd contact with a potential employer)
Fill out an application to apply for the job position
At the same time, also send out an e-mail to your potential boss
Follow up with E-mail (4th contact with a potential employer)
(If you hear nothing after some time)
Follow-up with an application with an e-mail
(E-mail your potential boss if known otherwise someone in Human Resources/Recruiting)
Follow–up with Phone Call (5th contact with a potential employer)
(If you hear nothing after some time)
Follow–up with a phone call
(Call your potential boss if known otherwise someone in Human Resources/Recruiting)
So, these could be five potential contacts you could make with a potential employer to move a job application to an interview. You may be able to use a table to track your progress in the job search.
Thoughts of mine on how to improve the job search through follow-up – what are your thoughts. Let me know by writing an e-mail message to helpfulfeedback@yahoo.com.
Live Your Life Learning Blog
Here are some tips and tricks to improve your job search.
- Have an accurate paperwork system.
A job search can involve a variety of unique documents and pieces of information. Have a plan of organization for your job search. Otherwise, documents and pieces of information may get lost.
- Write your e-mail address as the last part of the e-mail.
You may use e-mail communication when conducting your job search. Fill out the e-mail address as the last part of the e-mail. That way, you do not accidentally send out the e-mail before you are ready. If you will out the e-mail address while you are still composing the e-mail, you may accidentally send out the e-mail when you are not ready.
- Check your e-mail for grammar errors.
Your e-mail makes an impression on you. Check your e-mail for grammar and spelling errors. Use grammar checker software to help you find errors. Grammar checker software tools can include Grammarly (www.grammarly.com) or ProWritingAid (https://prowritingaid.com)
- Double-check the spelling of a name.
The name of a person is important; therefore, you want to make sure you have the correct spelling of the name. Misspell the name can create a negative impression for the e-mail.
- Ensure you have a professional e-mail address.
When searching for potential opportunities, have a professional e-mail address; do not begin your e-mail address like YouAreStupid, Myneedsaresupreme, or Letmewasteyourtime. Have a professional-sounding e-mail address.
- Have an e-mail address just for job searching
Have an e-mail address used just for job searches. You can prevent having an e-mail address that has one e-mail describing your cousin’s birthday party and another e-mail communicating your next professional opportunity.
- If you find a website that is valuable to your job search – save it.
- Write the e-mail address down to remember it, or use the web browser to save the website. If you use Google Chrome, you can bookmark the website. If you use Microsoft Edge, you can favorite the website. Other web browsers may have similar features.
- Delete voice and text messages from your phone memory.
You do not want to miss out on a professional opportunity because your phone did not have enough memory to store a voice or text message.
May you be successful in finding your next opportunity.
Live Your Life Learning Blog
Imagine the following
You are in your current job position; when you decide a time for a change, time for an extra shift in direction, time for something different. You choose to search for (let’s say) a trainer position. So, you decide to look for a new job position. You gather your career information (your past employers, educational history, references, and related information). You then work on your job-hunting documents like a cover letter, resumes, and references. You then edit the job-hunting records to create great-looking job-hunting documents.
Once you have the job-hunting documents created, you then apply for job positions. You search the Internet for job positions and apply to them. For some applications, you fill out an online application. For others, you send in just a resume and cover letter; you can show an interest in many unique positions. You feel you are making significant progress in sending out various applications to different job positions.
You’ve been sending out stuff for a while, and then you check your phone for messages. You find that there is one message on your phone. You decide to listen to the phone message. And the phone message is good news–you have an invitation for an job position. Company Good Luck Go G Fake Company decides to invite you to an job interview. You are happy with being considered for the company; you feel you are making progress with your job search.
You then decide to gather your materials about the Good Luck Go G Fake Company. And…… you run into a problem. You cannot find records related to Good Luck Go G Fake Company, or not at least right away. You seemed to have the habit of saving your files in about any place on your computer, calling the names of your files about any inspired name you thought of at the moment you saved the file, and not knowing when you saved the files. You have lost your file on the computer. After many hours of searching, you luckily can find your Good Luck Go G Fake Company cover letter, resume, and job description.
You can accomplish more organized. Job Searches go better organized. Here is one way to stay organized dealing with word-processing files. I used Microsoft Word as my word processor.
Folders
Folders in real life can bring related documents together in one place. Digital folders on the computer can store related digital documents together in one place. When you are applying for job positions, you can create a folder called “Places applied to”
Go in the “Places applied to the folder and then created a folder of the name of each place you applied to. Word will automatically alphabetical folder names. You can have an alphabetical list of the different places you have applied to. The alphabetical order helps you find information on a particular place you applied to. You can then put everything related to that specific place in that folder. Common items can be resumes, cover letters, and job descriptions.
“Places Applied to” file
You can create a “Places Applied to” word file that could list all the unique positions you applied to. A file like this can help you know what job positions that you applied to. You can organize the file in alphabetical order by the name of the places you applied to. Each entry can have information like job position and when applied.
For example, you can have:
Bob Bakery
Job Position: Cook
Applied: August 5, 2021
Susan Soup
Job Position: Soup Specialist
Applied: August 5, 2021
Tod Tubas
Job Position: Tubas Specialist
Applied: August 5, 2021
The places can be bold, making them easier to find.
“Accounts” file
Sometimes, in the job search, you will create accounts. You will go to a particular website, and you will create an account. You may find it helpful to have a file that will organize the account names. You can create a file called “Accounts.” And then, you can have the file managed by the alphabetical order of the places that you created an account. Each entry then can have information like Username and Password. An example could be:
Bob Bakery
Username: BobBakeryOne
Password ABCDEF123$
Susan Soup
Username: SusanSoupOne
Password: ABCDEF123$
Tod Tubas
Username: TodTubasOne
Password: ABCDE123$
An account file can be effective in knowing what accounts you create.
Having an organized job search will create a more effective job search.
Live Your Life Learning Blog
I will have an article post next week; in the meantime, enjoy Labor Day Weekend for those in the United States. And for others, enjoy your time in whatever you are doing.
Thanks for reading; your support is greatly appreciated.
Live Your Life Learning Blog
Do you know what your voice sounds like?……
Of course, you do.
You have been listening to your voice since you were a small child. Every time you open up your mouth, you hear your voice. You know what your voice sounds like; if you are unsure how your voice sounds, you can start talking.
For example my voice
Take my voice, for example; my voice sounds more in the lower deep tonal voice range. My voice is not a deep bass voice, but it is a deep tonal voice. I hear my voice each time I talk. It is a voice I am familiar with.
I can also hear my voice on recording devices; for example, doing a Podcast, I can listen to my voice. And I hear my voice sound like……… ah……….ok…….. My voice sounds like that……My voice sounds nothing like I am used to.
Surprise
Welcome to the surprise of recording your voice on a recording device like a podcast. My voice sounds more like a higher tonal voice. I find it difficult to explain. I thought my voice might sound similar to a voice from a past Minnesota senator, Al Franken, but I don’t think that comparison is accurate. For those interested, I have a podcast called Live Your Life Learning for those who may be interested in hearing my voice.
Perfectly sounding voice; it works fine for me to navigate through life, but it is surprising when you first hear your voice on a recording device. After a while, you get used to your voice on a recording device after doing it for some time.
YouTube Video
A good YouTube that explains the process:
YouTube Title: Why does your voice sound different on a recording? Greg Foot Answers Your Questions | Head Squeeze.
YouTube Channel: BBC Earth Lab
Published: September 9, 2013
When you record your voice in a recorded voice, you may hear an unfamiliar voice than what you are used to.
What does your voice sound like?
So, what does your voice sound like? Does your voice sound different from what you excepted? What is the difference? What do you think your voice sounds like?
Let me know your thoughts at helpfulfeedback@yahoo.com
Happy recording.
Live Your Life Learning Blog
Many times, job searches can involve appointments. The appointment is for a specific time and place. The reasons for appointments can vary, including informational interviews, job interviews, or internships interviews.
Physical Location
Sometimes a person will have a physical location for their appointment. Physical locations can be a professional office building, a restaurant, an airport or some other type of location. You want to make sure you are going to the correct physical location for the appointment. Here are some ideas to make sure you are going to the right physical location.
- Get the location in writing. If possible, try to get the location in writing to remind yourself where the appointment is occurring.
- If you verbally told about the appointment, you may want to re-confirm the appointment with the person speaking to you about the appointment. You can write the location on paper so you will not forget the site of the appointment.
- You may find it helpful to go to the physical location before the appointment; physically going to the place can help you find it.
- Use a map–you may find it helpful to use an old technology called a paper map; a paper map can be beneficial to find a location (as a bonus, use paper maps without batteries)
- Use an Internet mapping tool to help find the location.
Google Maps is a standard mapping Internet tool.
You can use Google Maps to get directional help to go from one location to another.
The way to use Google Maps can be:
Go to Google and search “Google Maps.”
You then may get a search with a link that says Google Maps.
Click the link that says Google Maps.
You find a map shown on the screen.
You can type in an area in the search box on the left side of the screen.
For example, you can type in “New York City, NY” to get a map of the New York City area.
On the left side of the screen, you may find a button that says “Directions.”
You can click on the Directions button.
On the left side of the screen, you will get a box that will allow you to type in a starting location and an ending location.
The starting location will be the top line, and the ending location will be the bottom line.
For example, you can get directional help between The Empire State Building and The Museum of Modern Art.
On the top line, you can type in the Empire State Building and then type in the Museum of Modern Art on the bottom line.
You can then click the image of the magnifying glass to start the search.
You will then hopefully get a suggested route that will appear on the map.
You can also get detailed step-by-step instructions on the left part of the screen.
Suggested routes can vary by the type of transportation you would like to use.
You may have transportation options like driving by personal vehicle, Transit public transportation, bicycling, or walking.
You may get suggested routes of transportation from Google Maps.
Internet locations
You may have your meeting done through the Internet; you will want to have the correct destination on the Internet to know where to go. Here are some ideas:
- Get the location in writing. If possible, try to get the location in writing to remind yourself where the appointment is occurring.
- If you verbally told about the appointment, you may want to re-confirm the appointment with the person speaking to you about the appointment. You can write the location on paper so you will not forget the location of the appointment.
Time
You will also want to make sure that you have the correct time for the appointment.
Here are some ideas to have the correct time.
- Get the time of the meeting in writing. If possible, try to get the time in writing to remind yourself when the appointment is occurring. If you verbally told when the appointment would occur, you may want to re-confirm the time with the person speaking to you about the appointment. You can write the time of the appointment on paper so you will not forget when to arrive.
- Correct time zone–make sure you understand what time zone you are using to meet the person; you do not want to miss the appointment if you use a different time zone than the other people for the meeting.
Also, be sure to adjust the difference correctly in time between the time zones. You want to make sure you are correctly changing the time between the time zones; if a time zone is an hour earlier than your time zone, but you think it is an hour later, you will miss the appointment.
You can use a Time Zone Converter tool on the Internet to help you know the location of times in places in different time zones.
One example of a website that could be helpful could be:
You can go to the website of: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html
You can type in one city in a blue box called “Add another city or time zone.”
So, for example, you can type in “New York City, NY.”
Then another blue box will appear called “Add another city or time zone.”
You can then put in the second city you want information on
So, for example, you can type in “Los Angeles, CA.”’
You will then get the time zones for the different time zones.
YouTube Video that explains how to find directions from a mobile computer.
YouTube Title: Google Maps Driving Directions
Published: June 26, 2020
YouTube Channel: WebPro Education
Video shows finding directional location using Google Maps from a mobile computer.
If stuff goes wrong,
You may have a plan that does not work. For example, you may be late for an appointment. Have contact information for people you are meeting at the meeting. You can then call people to let them know you will not arrive on time for the appointment.
Job searching can use appointments. You can make a good impression by arriving at the right location at the right time for the meeting.
Live Your Life Learning Blog
Hello hello hello, hi, howdy, welcome, good day. Greetings, Hi-ya.
Hello, my name is Mike Searson. I am with Live Your Life Learning.
Learning to make your life better, improved, preferred, enriched, enhanced, excellent, great, grand, marvelous, outstanding, remarkable.
Words can express ideas. Different terms may express similar ideas. Different words that may express similar ideas are word synonyms.
Writing can use synonyms to express similar ideas without repeatedly repeating the same word, and writing is boring to read or listen to the same word constantly.
Words describe jobs. Similar jobs may have different words to express the same profession. A person may use word synonyms to find more job positions in a particular career.
How can you find the different words to describe a particular profession?
Here are some ideas:
- Google search for word synonyms–you can search the type of job position you are interested in and then type the word “synonyms” next to the term. You may find other words that can express the same job positions. For example, type in a Google search of “trainer” synonyms will give you additional word terms for the trainer profession.
A person may find other words used to describe a job position using My Next Move’s web page (www.mynextmove.org). My Next Move is a government website created by the U.S. Department of Labor.
One can go to My Next Move (www.mynextmove.org)
Then one can type in the occupation one wants to find information about
Here, a person can type in the word “trainer.”
In the search box called “Search careers with key words”
Type in “trainer”
And then you get a list of different job titles
Can select the job title “Training & Development Specialists.”
You then get a job description of the Training & Development Specialists
If you click “Also called” (a link towards the upper part of the screen)
You will get other terms for Training & Development Specialist
And other words for the trainer are:
- Computer Training Specialist
- Corporate Trainer
- E-Learning Developer
- Job Training Specialist
- Management Development Specialist
- Senior Instructor
- Supervisory Training Specialist
- Technical Trainer
- Trainer
- Training Specialist
- Informational Interviews–you may do an information interview to talk to people in the profession you are interested in; you may learn about other different word terms to express a profession.
- Articles on a particular profession–reading professional articles can help you learn the potential word terms used to express a specific profession.
You may increase the job positions you may find in a particular profession by using different words to express that specific job position. Additional word terms may give you more ways to search for opportunities in a specific profession on a web job site.
Live Your Life Learning Blog
