The 5 Types of Interview Outfits That Will Get You Hired

The 5 Types of Interview Outfits That Will Get You HiredNo matter what stage you are in your career, you need to dress to impress whenever youre granted an interview. That might mean something different depending on your career status and the field youre interviewing in, but the overarching point you should keep in mind when you select your attire is this look like you care. Look like you put some thought into how you present yourself, because after all, if you dont care enough to look nice and together when youre on your best behavior, then why should a company think you will care enough to do your best on any random Tuesday after a few months into the job? googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) Here are some tips for how to make sure youre making the right first impression on the hiring manager. Show them through what youre wearing how perfect you would be for the job, no matter what that job is.1. Super-CasualIn the past, the basic rule was that if you had a job interview, you better either buy a suit or make sure yours was dry-cleaned and ready to go. But times have changed, and its really okay to match your attire to the personality of the company.For example, you dont want to show up to a casual workplace in a suit and tieyoull look like you dont really understand the culture, and they wont be able to picture you adequately within their company. Try instead to focus on making sure you look clean and professional, despite the more laid-back style. Dark, clean, and crisp denim always works, with tasteful (again, clean) sneakers or sandals or flats, and a tidy, well-fitting top. Dont bust out a concert t-shirt or anything, but a wrinkle-free polo works.2. Sort-of-CasualYoure mucksmuschenstill not going to need a suit and tie, but you might have to trade your nice top in for one with buttons. Avoid jeans and go with a casual dress (one with sleeves, please), a skirt, corduroys, or other slacks instead. Keep your shoes r elaxed, but elegantnothing you would wear to the gym, say. Maybe add a bit of a heel.3. Executive CasualYou still dont absolutely need a tie in this situation (but certainly no one would think it out of place), but a jacket or blazer is often called for. Definitely no jeans. Keep the skirts or slacks on the dressier side, and go with the more elegant shoespumps for the ladies something leather for the men. Add a pop of color or pattern in your shirt that will jazzmusik up the monotony of your suit separates.4. Serious BusinessOkay. Here come the suits. Gents, here come the ties. You can wear your more colorful suits, darker ones, or subtle patterns bright colors are fine here. Just because you need to look professional doesnt mean you cant have a personality. Keep the tops crisp and well-tailored, the heels closed-toe, and legs covered with hosiery or tights.5. Boardroom Big ShotIn the highest stakes situations, its best to go for the gold. Grey or navy suits for the men, with ties and white dress shirts. The highest quality accessories are needed hereas neat and unobtrusive as possible. Ladies, keep your skirt lengths two-fingers above the knee or longer and stick with black tights and shoes.Remember to make sure youre comfortable. And dont make it look like youre dressing up from Mommy and Daddys closet. Keep it simple, not too flashy, and youll do just fine. And, as always, dress for the job you want, not the one you have.

5 Things You Should Know About FMLA Before You Need To Use It

5 Things You Should Know About FMLA Before You Need To Use It The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 is a federal law that states that any covered employer must give their employees 12 weeks of job-protected unpaid leave for their qualified medical and family reasons once per year.This means that if you or your spouse, child, or parent comes down with a serious health condition, or if you need to care for a newborn baby, you will want to apply for FMLA ASAP. In doing so, your priority can become your family or yourself and workwillwait for you to come back.Heres what you need to know about FMLAbeforeits time to use itFind out if your company is considered coveredWhat does the stimmt covered mean in context of FMLA? If you work for a private company its considered covered if there are 50 or mora employees within 75 miles of the office you work in. If you work for the local, state, or federal government or a public and private school, youre covered regardless of how many emplo yees there are.If your company is not considered covered, you may be eligible under your states family and medical leave policyif it has one. Luckily,family-friendly workplace policies like paid leaveare becoming increasingly popular. If your state or county offers paid leave, you could use this for an FMLA-covered reason, and the leave is FMLA-protected.Determine whether you are eligibleYou are eligible for FMLA if youve been with your company for 12 months prior to your request. Those 12 months do not need to be consecutive, but you have to have worked them within seven years. On top of this requirement you need to have worked 1,250 hours within those 12 months.You wont get paid leave with FMLA, but check your optionsUnlike nearly every other developed nation in the world, the U.S. does not guarantee paid parental leave. That being said, your company may have leave policies that offer some pay or short-term disability you could take. After that, you may be able to use your paid ti me off (or you may need to use your PTO before you use FMLA-leave), but then the rest of the leave would be unpaid.Thankfully, more and more companies have been improving their paid maternity leave policies, so see whether your company offers anything. How to use FMLAGenerally, you must give your employer at least 30-days notice before taking FMLA if you know youll be needing it (for instance, if you have a surgery scheduled). Of course, emergencies do happen -- so if your leave is unforeseeable, tell your employer as soon as you know youll need time off from work.You do not need to take the 12 weeks consecutively, but if you dont, keep detailed notes of how you use your time off and youll need to be clear with your employer about when youre taking off and returning. The more transparent you are the better.If youre taking FMLA to care for a newborn or an adopted child, your leave must be taken within one year of their birth or arrival, and it must be taken in one continuous block of time.If you work with your spouse, you must share your leaveIf you and your spouse work for the same company, you both cant take 12 weeks each. You either take all the 12 weeks yourself and your spouse will take none, or you divide the 12 weeks between the two of you.Now that youre informed, dont stop here. Schedule a meeting with your HR manager to learn about your companys leave policy. Get informed and feel empowered knowing how youll be covered when youll need it most.--Liz McGrory is a certified professional coach supporting working moms make audacious choices about their work-life balance. Shes a speaker, author, the Working Mom Expert on About.com and a working mom coach at The Maven Clinic.Fairygodboss is committed to improving the workplace and lives of women.Join us by reviewing your employer

Did You Hire the Right Manager - Spark Hire

Did You Hire the Right Manager - Spark HireYou just hired a new manager who has great experience and an excellent track record. When you made the offer you thought you made the right decision. Now, afterwards, you begin to question your decision.A recentGallup Business Journalarticle states that 82% of the time, companies make the wrong decision when hiring a manager. Thats a lot of bad decisions which affect production and profitability.So how do you determine if someone is the right manager? You can always hire outside of the company and look for someone who has an established track record. However, the articlementions that even this does not always guarantee the best hire.Gallup Business Journal notes five key abilities and skills to look for in a manager.Ability to motivate employeesAbility to be assertive and drive the right end resultsAbility to hold the team accountableAbility to form trustworthy and solid relationships with their teamAbility to form decisions geared towards p roductionThis is an excellent distributionspolitik to start when assessing talent and Gallup Business Journal also points out that your next great manager could be right in front of you.Is there someone on the team already who has demonstrated these abilities and skills through their performance? You could assess this particular person by looking at times when they may have been in a lead role or in charge of a small team or project.A benefit to promoting from within is the fact that the employee is already familiar with your business and company processes.If you feel you may have found your next great manager in a current employee, make sure that you understand the employees desires and wishes. Believe it or not, all employees do not dream of making management status some day.After discussions with the employee, if it still seems like a good fit, take it a step further and have them complete a PEAC, DISC, or other similar type of assessment in order to identify strong and weak poin ts.Are there skills that the employee could improve through training? It may be well worth your time to invest in the employee by considering management training programs in order to build and expand on the foundation of management skills they already posses.Furthermore, theGallup Business Journalarticle states that Bad managers cost businesses billions of dollars each year, and having too many of them can bring down a company.With this in mind, it only makes sense to not only hire for skill, but to also invest in your new managers by ensuring they have the training in order to be the great manager that you need.What are some ways that you ensure you are hiring the right managers? Please share your comments and tips below.Image Santiago Cornejo/Bigstock.com

The Perks of a Criminal Justice or Criminology Career

The Perks of a Criminal Justice or Criminology CareerThe Perks of a Criminal Justice or Criminology CareerEven in a tough job market, there are plenty of career opportunities for the well-qualified job seeker. The need for technology, engineering, and other advanced and specialized vocations are only going to increase. So, too, are community and public service careers. So when you sit down to consider where you want to go with your professional life, why should you choose a career in criminology or criminal justice? Helping Others There are plenty of surveys that indicate the number one reason people enter into law enforcement and other criminology careers is that they have a strong desire to help other people. There are few other career fields out there that offer so many and diverse opportunities to do just that. Criminal justice careers give you the ability to play to your strengths and use your specific skills for a greater good, whether through helping victims of crime as a victims advocate, helping profile criminals as a forensic psychologist, or overseeing the progress of a parolee or probationer as a probation, parole or community control officer. Job Stability Many jobs in criminal justice and criminology offer an almost unmatchable level of job security and stability. If you have the fortitude to stick it out, you will more likely than not enjoy a long career that is relatively immune to the ebbs and flows of the private sector job market. Though you often give up higher salaries to work in criminology, you gain the peace of mind knowing that your job is pretty much safe as long as you remain true to the high ethical standardsit demands. Engage Your Brain The old police stereotypes are diminishing todays law enforcement officers and other criminal justice professionals have to think um ein haar on their feet and be ready and willing to meet a host of challenges. Regardless of what field or discipline you ultimately choose to pursue, whethe r it be a career in forensic science or policing, youll enjoy putting your problem-solving skills to the test day in and day out. Few professions are as mentally demanding and hold higher stakes than criminology careers. As the public rightly places higher expectations on its protectors and public servants, these careers offer rewarding challenges to keep the job interesting, whether youre in your first or thirtieth year. Health and Retirement Benefits Though the landscape is changing somewhat, public service careers still tend to offer a more appealing insurance and retirement package than many private sector jobs. For criminal justice and criminology workers, the deal is often even sweeter. Many criminal justice professions offer an earlier retirement at a higher rate of accrual, meaning youll be able to retire younger and earn more. And because many of these jobs are physically demanding, they often come with the means to help you stay healthy longer. Amazing Opportunities and Experiences A career in criminology can offer tremendous opportunities and some of the best training available. Every day on the job comes with its own new and unique rewards. The fact is, most careers in criminology and criminal justice offer exactly what most job seekers are looking for. All you need to do is find the perfect criminology career for you.

Department of Labor Guidelines on Internships

Department of Labor Guidelines on InternshipsDepartment of Labor Guidelines on InternshipsNot all fr sich selbstships are alike and to avoid running afoul of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), its important for hiring companies and interns to know whats expected in terms of training and compensation. Federal Guidelines The DOL bases its guidelines on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and the intention is to discourage employers from treating interns as a free labor pool. The FLSA was created to ensure all workers receive at least a minimum wage. As states begin to raise the minimum wage level, the result could be fewer internship opportunities. The guidelines are meant to reinforce that internships are foreducational trainingrather than a replacement for employees, even if a student is receptive to doing anything to get experience. Many employers spend considerable time training and mentoring their interns and do leid derive much benefit from having them complete an internshi p. Other organizations, however, expect interns to jump right in and do the work of a regular employee. Its possible the guidelines will cause these companies to eliminate internships if they dont want to pay, resulting in fewer opportunities for students. Practical Guidance for Employers While it is notlage required that each and every one of the seven points in the DOL checklist is followed to make an internship qualify as unpaid, it remains prudent for a company to err on the side of caution when interpreting the guidelines. If an intern successfully challenges their unpaid status after the fact, it could result in stiff penalties. These are the guidelines governing when an intern must be paid 1. The employer should state at the outset that the intern is not entitled to wages for time spent in the internship. In no case should any payment be implied. What It Means If an intern was putting in eight hours a week, then gets an assigned workload and schedule resembling a full-tim e employee, pay them. 2. The internship (even though it includes the actual operation of the employers business) should be similar to training given in an educational environment and include hands-on experience. What It Means Make it a combination of education and actionable work. 3. The internship should tie in directly with the interns academic coursework or the intern should receive academic credit. What It Means Work should be meaningful (not fetching coffee and dry cleaning for the boss). If the intern is getting no college credit, payment is advisable. 4. The internship should correspond to some extent with the academic calendar, accommodating the interns academic responsibilities. What It Means Honor the students exam schedule and other campus events. Expect to be inconvenienced. 5. An internship should have a set time frame and when the intern stops benefiting, it should end. What It Means Dont let students just sit around or repeat the same tasks for the entire internship. 6. The intern should not displace regular employees, but work under close supervision of existing staff. What It Means If the staff doesnt have time to direct an intern, reconsider. 7. The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship. What It Means If an intern is guaranteed a job, this is not an internship. Its an orientation and requires payment. Internship Best Practices Here are some additional best practices to make an internship a satisfying experience for all involved Make Sure the Experience Is Supervised Interns shouldnt be left alone in the office and should always have a point of contact while on the job. They should also know how to contact their immediate supervisor and understand how and when they will receive feedback. Set Times for Evaluation All employers should schedule three evaluations with their interns. One should be held after two weeks, another at the halfway point, and the last one at the end of the internship. Feedback is key in order to educate interns so they can learn from the experience. Switch Up the Workload Interns are like sponges. They are not employees (with specialized skills) and they should be learning about different parts of your business. Rotational programs are a great way to create a learning experience that helps interns understand what type of work they like and what they are good at.

Times Up More than 180 female senior ad executives put industry on notice

Times Up More than 180 female senior ad executives put industry on noticeTimes Up More than 180 female senior ad executives put industry on noticeOn Monday, mora than 180 senior female advertising executives in North America - including the CEO of Saatchi Saatchi NY, the chief operating officer of Publicis Worldwide North America Operations, and the CEO of the American Association of Advertising Agencies - announced the launch of Times Up Advertising, an anti-harassment campaign and legal aid fundraiser. It is the first industry-specific campaign to join the Times Up movement.As women in senior leadership positions in advertising, weve agreed that we have the power to change this business we love until it looks more like the industry we want to lead, the open letter states. Sexual harassment is not OK. Never. No exceptions. No amount of talent, missed cues, or being great in the room unchecks the No Sexual Harassment box.Times Up Advertising said that its mission is to fix policie s that have failed us and drive new workplace policies that create more balanced, diverse and accountable leadership address workplace discrimination, harassment and abuse and create equitable and safe cultures within our agencies. The organization said it will host its first open forums for women in advertising on May 14 in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.Mad Men world is still aliveRecent examples show why there is a growing urgency for the real change being promised by Times Up Advertising. The Mad Men world of sexist men in advertising is still all too real. Just last week, a prominent ad executive for Hyundais agency Innocean, Eric Springer, was accused of using a bullying and harassing management style against female employees in a lawsuit.In London, multiple ad agencies have admitted that male staffers still send out top five emails on their last day of employment to rank their female coworkers by attractiveness.Outside of the formal structures of an initiati ve like Times Up, more private groups are taking their grievances online to shame alleged sexual harassers in advertising. Diet Madison Avenue, for example, is a popular private Instagram account run by anonymous advertising insiders that seeks to expose sexual harassment discrimination in ad agencies since Oct 2017, cuz HR wont, according to its bio.Through the rise of external accountability measures, these initiatives are signaling that the current system is failing women in advertising, and the toxic schwierigkeit is systemic.

Finance Under Pressure

Finance Under PressureFinance Under PressureFINANCE UNDER PRESSURECFOs reported the greatest pressure points impacting their accounting and finance organizations35% Meeting regulatory compliance mandates35% Keeping pace with changing technology18% Finding and keeping skilled staff12% Harnessing/managing big data2% OtherResponses do not total 100 percent due to rounding.Pressures spur companies to evaluate existing processes and seek new solutions to improve performance and productivity Increasing Burden/CostsPRESSURESRegulatory complianceKeeping pace with technologyIMPACTDrive transformation initiativesSOLUTIONSAI, automation, cloud, ERP, big dataRESOURCESSpecialized knowledge and skillsGreater Efficiency/AgilityHow companies are helping staff keep pace with changing technologyOffering training and professional development opportunities 55%Providing continuing education reimbursement 41%Bringing in external consultants for support 41%Assigning technology-related projects to expand sk ills 40%Fostering greater collaboration with IT colleagues 40%Multiple responses were allowed.