Tuesday, April 21, 2020

How to Find the Best Resume Writing Service?

How to Find the Best Resume Writing Service?Finding the right resume writing service is a difficult task because there are so many companies and there is such a huge competition that it can be hard to tell which ones are better than the rest. The best way to find out whether you are getting the right services is to do some research on how the companies rate themselves and also search for reviews from other people who have used the services before.When you are in the market for a resume writing service, make sure that you choose one that has a high rating in terms of customer satisfaction because this is an indicator of their dedication to helping people with their needs. Since so many people are relying on their services and are willing to pay them for it, the more honest companies will naturally be more popular amongst the public and thus they will gain customers.The best way to find out which one is the best is to contact your friends and ask them if they have any good resume writi ng service that they would recommend to you. However, if you really don't know anyone else who uses the services then the easiest way to find a good resume writing service is to find out what the customers say about the company.So, it is important that you search for as many people's review and opinions as possible. A good way to find these reviews is to visit forums and read about other people's experiences using the services. Many people who write blogs on different topics are also good sources of information because they can talk about the services they have used in the past and which ones are still worth buying.A good resume writing service will always provide you with quality products because they have gone through the rigorous process of hiring people and checking their samples and test-takes for them to work. In most cases, a good service will offer a guarantee so that you will never be concerned about anything even if you end up having to return the services.Another great ti p to help you find a good resume writing service is to be able to write an effective cover letter. People will be able to see the qualities that you have that make you qualified for the job.Resume writing services are a great way to get the most from your efforts and to ensure that you don't waste any time at all trying to find the perfect one. So, if you want to get the job done the right way then you must look for the best resume writing service that you can find because this will ensure that you get the job done without any problems.

Thursday, April 16, 2020

0% Small Business Loan

0% Small Business Loan Like many entrepreneurs, Christina Battle had an idea for a business, along with the passion and drive to make it happen. What she didn’t have was money, or even a strong enough credit rating to borrow the money she needed. But thanks to a loan with a 0% interest rate, together with loans from friends and family, she was able to get her dream business off the ground. “It does sound too good to be true,” Battle says with a laugh, describing her initial reaction when hearing about Kiva Zip’s interest-free loan program for small businesses. “I thought, ‘What’s the catch?’” Battle’s big idea was a fashion truck, conceived during a brainstorming session over a bottle of wine with her father-in-law, who knew she wanted to start a fashion business but didn’t have the capital to open a retail store. “What about an ice cream truck for fashion?” he proposed. She did her research and learned that there were fashion trucks in the Los Angeles area. With some guidance from an owner of one of them, she put together a business plan, but funding it would be a challenge. Battle had been bartending for the previous eight years, and operated in a “100% cash world,” she says. She had no consumer debt, but she also hadn’t established business or personal credit either. That meant that using a credit card to fund her businessâ€"no matter how riskyâ€"wasn’t even an option. The first credit card she applied for came with a tiny limit, “maybe $100,” she says. Instead, she cobbled together the $15,000 she needed to get started with a loan from her father-in-law, her manager at the bar where she worked, and a $5000 loan through Kiva Zip. She launched TopShelf Style in 2012 and hasn’t looked back. Small Loans, Big Impact Kiva Zip offers microloans in amounts of $2500 to $10,000 with repayment terms ranging from 12 to 36 months. “The important thing is that there is no interest and no fees,” says Premal Shah, president and co-founder of Kiva Zip. “It’s like when friends lend to friends. They don’t ask for interest but they want to get paid back.” It is part of a larger ecosystem of microlenders, who offer loans when traditional lenders can’t or won’t, and often to underserved individuals or communities. “There are some 8000 requests from small business for credit declined every day,” says Tammy Halevy, senior vice president for new initiatives at the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO). Businesses that need credit but aren’t served by banks may have other options, she says. Some microlenders are for-profit organizations, but more than 400 are non-profit like Kiva Zip. Many are designated as Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). These lenders may be able to make loans to those with credit challenges, or those with no credit (such as immigrants). A number of them offer “credit builder” loans, which can help the borrower establish a positive credit rating. Indeed, Kiva Zip recently began reporting borrower’s payment histories to Experian’s commercial credit division, allowing them to build business credit. “The other segment that these lenders are terrific with are start ups,” says Halevy. “They are often too high risk for banks. CDFIs often provide a combination of help with affirmation of a business plan as well as the capital to get going.” In addition to a loan, these organizations may provide additional assistance such as business plan development, training and coaching. A Different Kind of Credit Score Kiva Zip does not check the owner’s personal or business credit scores. Borrowers are vetted to help prevent fraud, and must meet basic requirements (they cannot be in foreclosure or bankruptcy, for example). Loans must been seen as having a positive social impact, and the owners must have a business plan. Borrowers are also required to invite friends and contacts for initial funding. They can become investors for as little as $25 each, but this “social proof” is critical to the process. “If you invite 15 â€" 25 of your friends to fund you that proves to the rest of the community that you are worthy of a loan,” says Shah. “It’s like a community credit score.” Indeed, it seems to hark back to lending a century ago, when loans were often made largely on the basis of the borrower’s character. Still, Kiva says 80 â€" 90% of the funds a borrower raises through the platform will likely come from strangers. The company reports that borrowers in the U.S. crowdfunded by Kiva have an 89% repayment rate. How does an organization like Kiva Zip afford to make loans with no interest and no fees? They raise money in two ways. One is through foundations and large donors, and the other is through individual donors who may invest as little as $25 in a business. When I recently made my first loan on the platform, I was asked if I wanted to make a small donation (about $3.50) to Kiva Zip. PayPal provides free processing for all transactions. Not all microloans are interest-free. “Rates all over the map, from 0% to low double digits,” says Halevy, who notes rates are often “slightly higher than a bank and lower than for-profit alternative lenders.” Some programs are able to offer lower rates thanks to government subsidies. Battle repaid her first Kiva Zip loan on time, and was able to secure a second loan, which in turn helped her open a TopShelf Style retail store. “This year I really want to make a leap upward and invest in better brands and improve the experience for my customers,” she says, adding that she is also determined to grow e-commerce sales. She has also begun to build credit with a line of credit from her bank. She hopes her experience will encourage other entrepreneurs who are running into financial roadblocks to seek out alternative sources of funding. “I want people to know it’s not too good to be true,” she says. Gerri Detweiler is Head of Market Education for Nav, which helps small business owners monitor and build strong personal and business credit, and create financially healthy companies. She is the coauthor of Finance Your Own Business: Get on the Financing Fast Track with attorney Garrett Sutton.

Saturday, April 11, 2020

Fire Your CEO Reorganize The Business Of BrandYOUâ„¢ - Work It Daily

Fire Your CEO Reorganize The Business Of BrandYOUâ„¢ - Work It Daily This post is part of the Professional Independence Project series. Is it time to fire your CEO and reorganize the business of BrandYOUâ„¢? Find out! Have you read any of the articles citing the repeated reinventions Joan Rivers achieved in her long career? Joan did an exemplary job of proactively managing her own brand and evolving her professional life in fresh directions without sacrificing her values, integrity, or passions. Are you managing your own career as effectively as she did? Purpose Joan recognized that just as companies of all sizes need a mission statement, individuals need to clarify what they do what they do and what drives their focus. This career or life purpose underlies all effective career planning. Once you know what drives you, you’re ready to begin designing your Strategic Career Plan â€" a roadmap outlining your career progression over the next five to 20+ years. Your career plan serves as your AAA TripTikâ„¢, guiding your professional journey through a shifting landscape. Keep your plan flexible, though. If you’re career path is to be continuous, it must enable you to adapt to the rapid-paced change we all face, from labor market ups and downs, disasters, economic shifts to corporate reorganizations, personal growth, and unexpected family events that demand rewrite your priorities. An effective career plan encompasses six key elements: Your career values: What matters most to you in your career? Do you value challenge, responsibility, fairness, creativity or something else altogether? Make a list of your Top 10 career values and flush out your Top 3-5 so you can use them as a decision-making compass throughout your working life. Your Personality: What kind personality do you have? What kind of work environments, teams, and bosses best mesh with your character? Note 3-5 of your strongest traits and add them to your decision-making compass. Your Transferable Skills: What are your strongest and most universal skills â€" those that relevant in multiple industries or myriad sectors of the same industry? You’ll need a Top 10 list here, too, but note that you can develop new skills anytime you need them. As a consequence, you’ll see a lot of skills moving into and out of that list as the years unfold. Your Passions: What are you passionate about? Which causes get you riled up or drive you to influence and reshape the world around you? These may be harder to identify than the other elements listed here, but passions assume greater importance later in life so they deserve equal decision-making attention as you move into your 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and beyond. Your Gifts: What are you gifted at doing? Are there things you excel at that no one ever had to teach you? These gifts are yet another important facet of your decision-making compass that should be unearthed and leveraged fully throughout your working life. Your Credentials: What are your educational credentials and certifications? What credentials do want to attain next, and what role will they play in your career? Research suggests we return to school for another degree, additional training, or another certification every three to five years on average. It’s never too early to begin planning your next significant learning investment. Performance Most employers, especially mid-size to large ones, employ some sort of performance evaluation process to maximize the contributions of their employees. Why not create a Personal Performance Management Plan of your own? By regularly evaluating your own performance you’ll be better prepared to reflect key insights when your manager asks you to analyze your year in review. I suggest conducting such a review quarterly with a longer, more extensive introspective process on an annual basis. This depth of self-reflection can be simplified by maintaining a Success Journal. Whether you write in an actual journal or simply keep a digital or physical folder filled with critical achievements matters not â€" the important thing is to constantly capture your successes in an organic way that keeps you constantly ready to update your resume or prepare for a surprise interview. By forming a habit of self-reflection about your accomplishments, your contributions, and your performance, you will enable yourself to capture more insights and brand attributes. Discover the Top 10 ways a career journal will benefit you. Just as your career unfolds organically, so does your brand. Proactive brand management requires constant awareness of what makes you different than your peers at work and those with similar skills in your industry so you can seek out fresh challenges and enable yourself to master new capabilities as the need arises. In a recent article on Yahoo Finance, Morgan Korn offered quotes from Reid Hoffman, the Co-Founder and Chairman of LinkedIn. First Hoffman noted that “individuals need to proactively invest in their career and take ‘intelligent risks’ to move up the corporate ladder.” He goes on to state that, “in a world that's moving at a very fast rate, everyone must be adaptable and constantly reinvest and reexamine one's professional progress. It's essential to put yourself out there to expand your professional network and to learn new skills.” Paraphrasing Hoffman, Korn comments that, “you are a start-up entrepreneur and must approach your career with an entrepreneurial mindset, constantly finding and creating new opportunities for yourself.” People Lastly, consider the role that people play in your career success. How strong are your relationships with colleagues, direct reports, and managers? Are your interpersonal and communications skills helping to cultivate career success or derailing it? Don’t overlook non-work relationships â€" your family, social, and personal life can easily have a negative impact on your career longevity if not carefully tended. Hence a savvy career CEO invests in the people around him or her at home and at work. Corporations have a board of directors to help run the company and provide critical oversight, so consider forming such a board to help guide your career. Select a handful or more of industry influencers, mentors, trusted advisors, and former managers to serve as a sounding board for major career decisions. This team of professionals can provide advice, of course, but they can also help you see facets of your personality, experience, and career brand that you may take for granted or overlook. Whether you convene your board in a formal face-to-face meeting or consult with them one-on-one, you’ll gain tremendous insight and confidence by availing yourself of their insights, perspectives, and recommendations. To maximize the relationships in your life and your quality of life overall, you may also want to consider creating a Life Balance Plan. CNN’s iReport recently ranked the Top 10 healthiest cities globally. The number one city, Copenhagen, was no surprise since Denmark is the number one happiest nation in the world according to the U.N.’s annual World Happiness Report. According to an OECD report, a mere 2% of Copenhagen employees work 40 hours a week or more. By working so much less than the rest of us, these Danes have learned how to maximize their free time and create space for non-work passions and interests. Examine your own balance by listing eight to 10 areas of your life that are important to you. Examples might include work/business/career, health, finances, marriage/significant other, family, social life, professional development, spirituality, and personal growth. Once you’ve listed the areas you want to measure, assign each a number based on the level of satisfaction each gives you at present (on a scale of one to 10 with one being zero satisfaction and 10 being extreme satisfaction). Let’s say even though your health might not be perfect, you may be satisfied with your progress and therefore rate this area an eight. Review your ratings to see what changes may be needed. Is high satisfaction in one area (work?) causing low dissatisfaction in another (marriage?). Are there areas where you want to make significant changes for long-term balance? By considering life balance as a part and parcel of your overall career planning, you’ll dramatically improve the likelihood that you can sustain the quality of life you want and deserve. Career planning is a lifelong process that demands constant attention. To paraphrase Cathy Benko, Harvard Business Review blogger and author of The Corporate Lattice: Achieving High Performance in the Changing World of Work, your “value in the talent marketplace isn’t static. Rather, it is dynamic and will fluctuate just like most goods and services. The only hedge is continual reinvention.” The time to plan your next reinvention is now. Want to take control of your career? If you want to take control of your career, check out our fall series, the Professional Independence Project. Throughout the month of October, we will be sharing expert advice and insight on how you can build a successful career you love. Sign up now to get five FREE video tutorials that show you how to market yourself to anyone, anywhere. Start your path the professional independence. Sign up today!       Photo Credit: Shutterstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!