Some of the Worlds Leaders First Jobs

Some of the Worlds Leaders First Jobs Whatever your career ambitions, at the very start you need to just get your foot on the ladder and start earning some money. This is the case for everyone, no matter where they ended up, and that includes the men and women who are currently the most powerful people in the world. They may sit in big offices and get driven around in limousines today but that wasn’t always the case and their jobs were once much more humble. So here’s what every world leader did as their first job: North America As the son of a real estate tycoon who made his own name in that trade before TV and the White House came calling, it’s no surprise that Donald Trump’s first proper job was working in real estate to further the Trump name. Justin Trudeau’s father was also a big shot Canadian Prime Minister indeed but he started out working as a math teacher, while other leaders in the region had jobs as diverse as a comedian (Guatemala’s Jimmy Morales) and soldier (Nicaragua’s Muhammadu Buhari). South America It stands to reason that a good leader of a country should be someone who has been able to get to know what life is really like out there, which isn’t always possible for some of the more high-born leaders. It certainly was for Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro who drove around Caracas as a bus driver. Meanwhile, Uruguay’s Tabaré Vázquez also had an unusual route to the top, having started out as an oncologist. Europe You might have seen headlines about Volodymyr Zelensky, the new president of Ukraine, who had previously played a president on TV, and like Jimmy Morales of Guatemala, he started out as a comedian. Another new leader who made a name for himself on TV, the UK’s Boris Johnson began as a management consultant, while Sweden Stefan Lofven began his career as a welder and Dalia Grybauskaite of Lithuania worked in a factory. Africa No-one in Liberia or any football fan of a certain age will need reminding of what President George Weah started out doing in his career. The general picture in Africa is a mixture of former soldiers and former teachers being in power while Libya’s Fayez al-Sarraj was an architect and Saadeddine Othmani of Morocco was a psychiatrist and Gabon’s Ali Bongo Ondimba was a musician. Asia In the past, one of the marks of a strong leader was their ability to literally fight off their enemies, which isn’t the case (at least in most countries) today. However, if it ever comes to it for Mongolia’s Battulga Khaltmaa, his first job as a wrestler should stand him in good stead, while Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey was a professional footballer at first. China’s Xi Jinping had a suitably humble start before taking charge of the most populous country in the world, as he was a manual laborer, similar to Indonesia’s Joko Widodo, who started out as a pulp mill worker. Oceania The heads of the two biggest countries in Oceania were clearly set on a life in politics from the start as both Jacinda Arden and Scott Morrison worked for political parties or in policy jobs. Baron Waqa of Nauru had a slightly different start to his career, as he was a composer before opting to switch to the political world from the musical one. So, whatever your first job was, there’s no reason to give up hope that you too could rise to the top. If it worked out for a wrestler, some footballers and a couple of comedians, why not you? About the author:  John Cole  writes on behalf of NeoMam Studios. A digital nomad specializing in leadership, digital media, and personal growth topics, his passions include world cinema and biscuits. A native Englishman, he is always on the move, but can most commonly be spotted in the UK, Norway, and the Balkans.

Forgot to Ask a Question in Your Interview Heres What to Do - Career Sidekick

Forgot to Ask a Question in Your Interview Here’s What to Do - Career Sidekick Forgot to Ask a Question in Your Interview? Here’s What to Do After Your Interview / https://www.edenscott.com/blog An interview is always a high-pressure situation. No matter how much you prepare your answers, you might look back and wish you had said something different. The same goes for the portion at the end of your meeting when you’re the one in charge of asking questions â€"  you might’ve forgotten something important you wanted to know about the job and the company.If you find yourself in that boat, you’re not entirely out of luck. The following are four ways to re-open lines of communication and find out what you need to know before accepting a second interview or job offer:Send an EmailNowadays, it’s considered common courtesy to send a thank you note or email after your interview.There are specific ways to compose such a message:It should include everyone who spoke to you during your meeting and provide a quick reminder of your qualifications for the position. You should also throw in a thank you for the initial meeting or interview, of course.You can also use this message to ask a question of your own, too.  Just make sure your note is short enough so your question doesn’t get lost within the rest of it and overlooked.To make things easier to read, start a new paragraph after each one or two sentences.By putting these further questions into a message after your interview, youll make a positive impression on the person who receives the email, as it shows you’re interested and thinking about the job.Pick up the PhoneIf you have more than one question in mind, tacking them all onto a follow-up email after the interview might feel overwhelming to the recipient.In that case, you could ask for a quick phone call, or, if they provided their phone number, simply pick up the phone and reach out to your point of contact.Chances are, they’ll appreciate the fact that you’re taking the step to reconnect and save them an email.If you send lots of questions, they have to type up lengthy responses, which takes time out of their dai ly schedule.A quick phone call can have everything ironed out quickly, and both of you will benefit from that. Again, this type of effort on your part will show you care about the job and might put you in even better stead as they choose the right candidate.Schedule Another MeetingIt could be you who asks for a second meeting, or it could be the recruiter calling you in for an additional interview. Either way, a face-to-face conversation could give you more insight into the place where you might work â€" and give you a chance to find out everything you need to know before accepting the job.Aside from the questions you want to ask, you should take a few steps to ensure you feel prepared for your next in-person meeting or interview. For starters, choose an outfit that’s equally as professional as your first interview. This will help you solidify the excellent image you created on the first go-round.A second meeting or interview might mean you’re speaking with new people, which is another great reason to schedule such an event.With more potential colleagues around you, you can get multiple answers to the questions you have, which will give you an even deeper insight into the company for which you could work.Wait Until You Receive the OfferAnother ideal time to ask your question is when you receive a job offer from the company. At that point, they’re doing their best to convince you to take on the role, so the ball’s in your court â€"  ask as many questions as you need to help you come to the right decision.If you think an offer is on its way, start making a list of all the questions you want to ask before you make a decision.There are certain things you should always know before saying yes. You’ll want to understand the salary package, benefits system, vacation time and whether or not the company will pay you to move, among other questions. If that information still leaves you with doubts or unknowns, feel free to fire away another round of questions to get the answers you’ve wanted since your interview.Get Your Questions AnsweredWhether you pick up the phone or write an email, you have questions â€"  and you’re going to get them answered. Your persistence in doing so, no matter how you decide to do it, will show potential employers just how serious you are about the position at hand.That kind of reputation is the one you want as you apply and interview for new jobs. So, don’t hesitate â€"  reach out and get the answers you need. Both you and the employer will be glad you did.About this guest author:Sarah Landrum is a leading millennial career expert and the founder of  Punched Clocks, a career and happiness blog for young professionals. Follow Sarah on social media @SarahLandrum and subscribe to her career newsletter for more advice on creating a career you love!

Job Seekers Branding Yourself As A Generalist Doesnt Work - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Job Seekers Branding Yourself As A Generalist Doesnt Work - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career It used to be, the further you got in your career, the more you described yourself as a generalist. Youd brand yourself as a generalist because thats what youve learned your whole career that being a generalist was valuable, demonstrating your ability to quickly adapt to new situations and learn new skills. The generalist idea We all learned that it was a badge of honor being able to describe ourselves as a generalists, signifying we had experience in many industries and many job functions.. It was kind of like you had fought in many wars This is why so many of us still brand ourselves as generalists. It shouldnt surprise you that the older we are, the more likely we are to cling to the tradition of generalist branding. Also, many of us just dont know another way or cant picture ourselves as anything other than a generalist. For many years, this worked and worked well. From the 1940s until 2007, we had a candidate and skills shortage, so employers had difficulty finding managers and workers with the right basic skills finding a subject matter expert was rare. In addition, during the last 17 years, weve transitioned to a search based economy Now if we want something, we just Google it. A searched based economy allows employers to be specific, more precise in what they want and encourages providers (including job seekers) to be more specific and precise in what we can provide. As marketing guru Seth Godin blogged: When choice is limited, I want a generalist. When selection is difficult, a jack of all trades is just fine. But whenever possible, please bring me a brilliant specialist. Seths right why would employers settle for a generalist with shallow knowledge of many things, when they can find a subject matter expert with deep knowledge in solving their specific problem? Generalist and the expert When Ive written about the death of generalist branding in the past Ive gotten interesting responses. Basically, theres been an outcry of responses from candidates, generally older workers, who spend much effort describing what businesses should do differently and arguing that businesses should hire generalists. Rather than change themselves, instead these job seekers argue that industry trends should change. Even if its true that industry trends are flawed, tilting against windmills wont help these folks find a job. Even small companies who are more likely to need generalists and who have truly generalist positions, still hire subject matter experts, not generalists. While small companies may need people who can wear many hats for certain staff and managerial roles, small business hiring managers typically have one or two overriding priority problems. They typically hire a subject matter expert in solving their priority problems who is also able to fill a number of roles and adapt to new situations. And thats the order of how companies hiring generalist positions usually make hiring decisions. First Find a subject matter expert who has already solved the most pressing priority problems the hiring manager faces. This is almost always done via Applicant Tracking Systems and HR pre-screening. Next choose the subject matter expert who also has other skills and the ability to adapt to many roles. The decision of which subject matter expert is also the best at a generalist role is nearly always made during the interview. If employers first look for subject matter expertise and look via your resume why would you brand yourself as a generalist? But if you dont know another way to brand yourself (or think of yourself) than as a generalist stay tuned till next weeks article. Author: Phil Rosenberg is President of http://www.reCareered.com, a leading job search information website and career coaching service. Phil also runs the Career Central group, one of Linkedin’s largest groups for job seekers and has built one of the 20 largest personal networks on Linkedin globally. An active blogger about social media, career advice and job search information, Phil’s articles have been published by The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, CNN, CBS, AOL, FastCompany, CIO, ZDnet, The Examiner, and leading job/career/recruiting publications and sites. Check out one of Phil’s complimentary job search webinars at http://ResumeWebinar.com .

Yellow Black Finish A Free Resume Template Must-Have for Applicants

Yellow Black Finish â€" A Free Resume Template Must-Have for Applicants Yellow Black Finish â€" A Free Resume Template Must-Have for Applicants Sometimes, you just need to be bold. Your resume should be flashy. It should stand out, and reflect your personality and confidence. Are you absolutely sure of yourself? Do you know that your qualifications and credentials are exactly what hiring managers need? Then don’t hide behind boring black and white resumes! Check out this resume template with an undeniably confident yellow and black finish. This design isn’t for the faint of heart, but it is guaranteed to make people take notice. Of course, we’re not about style without substance. In addition to these eye-catching colors, we’ve provided you with a great layout that you can use to feature your skills, education, and work experience. Let managers know exactly who you are with a stand-out personal profile. What better way to sell yourself!You can download this template for free. All we ask in return is that you share this post on social media so others can use it as well. File size: 56 KB Format: .doc Downloaded 4,394 times License: Free, personal use only. Please read the license terms for resources. Download previous article What should I do following my job interview? next article Key Skills That All Resumes Need you might also likeCadmium Yellow: Simple, Yet Elegant Resume Template

How to Write the Perfect Resume

How to Write the Perfect ResumeWhen it comes to applying for a job, many people wonder how to write the perfect resume. You may be the perfect candidate, but your resume doesn't seem to stand out. It could be because you don't use a great cover letter or you didn't prepare it well enough.If you want to know how to write the perfect resume, here are a few tips that may help you. Be sure to have a good understanding of what kind of resume is needed before you begin.If you are planning on submitting a resume, this is one step you should do yourself. Create a cover letter and set a specific time frame for when you need to submit it. Remember that it's better to have it together before hand, rather than having to submit it a week or two later when your schedule may have been unplanned. Get the information that is necessary before hand so that you don't have to create it later. This may seem like a silly step, but sometimes there are things that you can do yourself that will save you money .Create a resume by looking at others' resumes. Go online and do a search for examples of resumes. Look for mistakes and common mistakes that are commonly made by others. There are many resources available online, as well as some books, that will show you how to fix any mistakes that you see.Formatting is another key factor when it comes to creating a resume. Make sure you get everything in order, including the number of columns, as well as the order in which the sections appear. There are certain fonts and sizes that will make a difference.Make sure your resume includes any information that you want to include. Don't be afraid to show your qualifications, especially if you are trying to persuade a potential employer to hire you. The skills and experience you have will help you get the job as well as give you an advantage over other applicants.Finally, how to write the perfect resume begins with the words that you put on it. It's essential that you understand what types of words mak e a resume effective. Try to avoid long and technical terms. Even if they may be hard to understand, they should not be used in a resume.These tips will be useful to know, especially if you want to know how to write the perfect resume. You may want to try and use something professional looking if you are applying for a job. A professional resume will also help you get the job faster.

Book review All hat and no cattle - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Book review All hat and no cattle - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog This book is the story of Chris Turner, and her work to bring change, learning and empowerment into Xerox. Its a highly entertaining book, right from this first line: My family never did hold much with organized religion. The fact is, we ended up in Texas because my great-grandfather roughed up a priest in Arkansas. Seems the good father didnt want to bury a nonbaptized child the Catholic cemetery, and my great-granddaddy took offense at such malarkey Given this background youll understand how I came by my habits of challenging rules and dogma. Questioning the status quo is something I have done all my life. And reading these tales of a corporate outlaw youre left with little doubt that the status quo needs to be questioned. And heres a tip: When you read the book, imagine it in a thick southern drawl that makes it even better. The book is full of wonderful stories, that demonstrate how irrational and silly many business practices today have become, but also show that change is possible. You dont have to sit on your hands complaining, its possible to make a positive difference even in very large, static and bureaucratic organizations. One of the points that really made a difference for me, is when Turner talks about learning. Many people look upon learning as something you can package, and transfer from one person to another, but the fact is, that only about 15% of the population learn in that way. Most people learn by experience. Therefore, when she was creating projects to enhance cooperation and learning at Xerox, she didnt create long slidehows about why learning and cooperation is good. Instead her team created somehting called camp lurning, where Xerox employees participated over several days, and where they automatically cooperated and learned. The main point being, that if you want to teach a behaviour, place people in a situation where they can exhibit that behaviour. As an example, the first day of camp lurning was deliberatly chaotic, forcing particpants to self-organize around a number of tasks allowing them to learn and cooperate on the spot, and to experience the benefits of it first hand. Turner argues, that most Powerpoint slide shows are created for the benefit of the speaker, not the participants, and that the Tell them and they will know idea is fundamentally wrong. Yaaaaaaay! One of Turners advantages seems to be, that she was never afraid of the organizations top dogs. In one story, she convinces the president Norm Rickard to drop a planned speech announcing a new organizational structure by telling him You know I love you Norm, and I need to tell you something. Youll never be a great speaker, but you are a terrific storyteller. Why dont you just sit on a stool and tell stories. Bag the speech. He agreed, it went great, and he later thanked Turner for the advice. In that respect, Turner reminds me of Gordon Mackenzie who worked 20 years for Hallmark, assuming the role of Corporate fool and wrote a book about it called orbiting the giant hairball. It seems to me a short step from Corporate Fool to Corporate Outlaw. This book is a wonderful, easy read with lots of deep learning about how organizations become frozen and dead, and how change can be brought about anyway, even in the face of little corporate support, no money, silly bureaucracy and widespread hopelessness. And in case youre wondering, all hat and no cattle, is a Texan expression for anything that favours style over content, for instance something that looks good on paper, but doesnt work in real life or a person who doesnt walk the talk. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Keeping Your Business On The Straight Narrow

Keeping Your Business On The Straight Narrow If you want your business to remain in good stead for its lifetime, you need to make sure that you are keeping it well within legal limits. There are always all kinds of guidelines and rules not to mention laws which a business needs to abide by. As long as you are abiding by those laws, you should be able to keep your business on the straight and narrow, and keep yourself and your fellow management teams out of trouble. But for that, you need to know what those guidelines actually are. There are a few main areas where you need to pay attention to this side of things so let’s look at what those are. Employment Law When it comes to your people, you need to make sure you are treating them fairly and in such a way which falls in line with the law and any industry guidelines which you might need to follow. But so many entrepreneurs fail to appreciate just how much there is to consider here, which is where the likes of Acas come into play. Such institutions will be able to inform you where you might be going wrong, as well as what you could possibly do to fix it. If you are interested in getting that kind of help for your business, take a glance at this Acas Phone number list. You should be able to find the contact details of someone who can really help you to get to the bottom of your business’ employment law concerns, so it’s definitely worth a call. Intellectual Property You need to make sure that you are never inadvertently using the ideas of someone else, as this is one of the quickest ways to get into trouble with the law. It will very rarely be purposeful, but even so you need to think about what you are doing when it comes to coming up with ideas for products, services, marketing and so on. Of course, this works both ways, and you should also be sure to legally protect your own ideas as best as you can too. As long as you are doing both of these, you should find that you are able to keep in line with the law, and not allow others to steal your ideas either, which can be one of the worst things to happen to any business. Tax It goes without saying that you will always need to pay tax, but so many first-time business owners fail to appreciate just how much tax there might be to pay. In many cases, you will have to pay income tax, corporation tax and even more if you earn over a certain amount. With all these different hurdles to overcome, it is definitely a big help to hire the assistance of a business tax accountant. They will be able to tell you where you might be going wrong, what you might be missing out on, and they might even be able to help you legally reduce your tax bill too.