How to become a disability support worker

Having a career in social work is fulfilling and inspiring. Being able to assist, care and be there for the vulnerable minority is commendable and an excellent way to give back to them. Your assistance as a care worker will range from emotional support to physical support and personal support to ensure individuals with disabilities will receive the care they need. However, there comes a lot of considerations to take when wanting to pursue it. In this article, we will be providing some guidelines and helpful tips for people who wish to uptake the responsibilities to understand how to become a disability support worker. Be qualified The first and mandatory step into becoming a disability support worker is to be qualified for it. Although personality and passion play a vital role in the job’s overall function, individuals who want to become disability support workers must receive official certification in social work courses to be a valid care worker. Employers will always request for formal qualifications so before you decide to apply for this position, ensure that you have the certification to present your officiated status. This should come as no surprise because being a disability support worker means to care for those who require a higher level of support. Before getting the certifications, you would have to be properly examined so that the trust that will bestow upon you will be in capable hands. Here are the official steps you will have to take to become a certified disability support worker: First, you will need to complete a course that will grant you with a vocational qualification in disability or community services. The two types of certificates you must present is either the Certificate III in Individual Support (CHC33015) or Certificate IV in Disability (CHC43115). Next, you are going to have to obtain a current police check in the state that you are in. It is also recommended that you have received first aid training and a certificate to ensure that your skills during an emergency are professionally recognised. After receiving the necessary and formal qualifications, you can also opt to go further and study to receive a Bachelors of Social Work. This social work degree will equip you with further professional qualifications and knowledge to advance in your career. There also are specialised fields for disability support workers so if you choose to go towards that path, a further education will be beneficial. If you prefer practical experience, you can participate in Disability Services. Volunteering in the industry gives you more practical knowledge that can be applied, and plus, it’ll look great when applying for different jobs. The more experience you have, the better for not only employers but for disabled individuals. What to expect when becoming a disability support worker. Be ready to be rewarded and challenged in all ways imaginable. When you become a disability support worker, it will be fulfilling, touching and commendable but it will also be a job that demands hard work and attentiveness. Other than being physical support workers, you will also have to provide emotional support and personal care. For individuals who are not able to fulfil their needs such as personal hygiene, a care worker will have to be careful and assist them in personal cleaning to maintain their mental and physical health. Here are some of the expectations you will be encounter during your job: Disability support workers provide assistance in everyday activities such as dressing up, cooking and eating as well as preparing them if they want to engage in community services and activities or attend personal appointments. Attentiveness is required because disability support workers provide the assistance in avenues where disabled people cannot achieve. Disability support workers are also expected to be there when attending to personal activities such as appointments or accompanying them to activities that support their interests. If disabled individuals require our advice or even someone to talk to, as a care worker, we will always be there for them when they need us. You should also expect an experience that will be rewarding because nothing means more than being trusted in a community. Most of the time, they can be akin to us in our interests and even passions, so expect your job to be exciting and filled with some of the most inspiring and amazing people. What is the estimated salary of being a disability support worker? You should expect to receive a salary of $78,000 per year as a Victorian. As the community starts to be more inclusive and recognise our disable individuals, there has also been an increase in job opportunities for it. Job growth has also not been shy of good numbers. It shown an increase of 25.4%; therefore, there are opportunities offered, but to become a disability support worker, you have to show your compassion towards people who need your support most. Your work placement areas can be privatised and personal or in institutions such as local government care centres, aged care centres and private nursing homes. Who should consider this career path? Ideally, anyone who has the experience, passion, or interest in providing care to people who have disabilities should look into this career path. Here are a few things to keep in mind and reflect upon before taking up the job: The way disability support work is meant to be done is with absolute vigilance and our priority being disabled individuals. If you find yourself not attentive or careless, you might have to reconsider or go through extensive training to ensure that you do not put disabled people in any harm while you are at work. A care worker must be empathetic and must maintain patience in every situation to ensure that we do not cause any mental strain to anyone who is disabled. Especially for care workers assigned to work as a personal care worker, you must get to know and be a person they can trust. Different customers have different characters but as a support worker for
Want an Aged Care Job with No Experience?

Australia is well known to have an aging population, which means we’ll need more and more aged care workers as we progress further into the 21st century. The federal government has already predicted there’ll be around 179,000 new jobs in the aged care industry by 2025. So how do you get a position in aged care, especially if you don’t have relevant work experience? If you’re looking to work in this industry, it’s often standard to hold a Certificate III in Individual Support. This Certificate III provides extensive training on how to provide individualised support, and you undergo 120 hours of vocational placement, both of which offer a strong foundation for your professional career. But what about after that? Or, what if you don’t have a Certificate III, and you just want to go straight into employment — how do you go about landing the job? Here are three things you can do to boost your chances. Emphasise skills on the resume In aged care, where you genuinely have to create a connection with and look after patients, skills are just as important, if not more important, than your career history. A regular day can include services such as delivering meals to patients, helping them eat, assisting with general housekeeping, taking care of their personal hygiene, completing laundry duties, and other such household chores. For a resume, you can write about how you’ve helped look after an older relative, or a friend’s relative. Otherwise, there’s a key category to the personal skills that job seekers must highlight — soft skills. To work in an aged care facility, or any other similar job type in industry where your main role is primarily dealing with people, it’s essential to demonstrate that you have excellent soft skills, including listening, empathising, relationship management, emotional intelligence, and other similar abilities. A previous role in customer service or at the front desk, for example, can be highly beneficial to your job searches. Job ads for aged care usually list an extensive repertoire of soft skills, so you’ll look like you’re perfect for the role if you already have them highlighted in your resume. If you’ve got no previous experience at all and you want to get your first ever job, that’s okay too — just make sure to list the important interpersonal skills you’ve exhibited throughout your time at school or in volunteering. One of the most important soft skills that’s relevant to every industry is your ability to collaborate. Team sports such as basketball, netball, football or other peer-related activities can be a good way to show your collaborative skills. Obtain other relevant qualifications If you don’t have a Certificate III in Individual Support, what other kinds of qualifications are relevant? Well, it’s actually quite simple. You’ll need a: 1) First Aid Certificate 2) Driver’s license (ideally, with a reliable car) 3) National Police Check The First Aid Certificate is now pretty much necessary to work in this industry, while the other two are extremely important. For example, if you’re assisting in an aged care home, you may be periodically asked to help drive clients to and from their residence. Being able to do it with your own vehicle and driver’s license will be important. Needless to say, as well as the qualification, it’s no good if you’re a reckless driver! Luckily, unlike a Certificate III which can require strenuous study and application, these three qualifications are obtained much more quickly. There are one-day First Aid Certificate courses, while you can get your Police Check if you do it with Rapid Screening in less than one hour. The driver’s license may be a little more intensive — but it’ll be a great help to the rest of your life anyway, and chances are you already have it. To further boost your chances, it can also help if you have a Working with Children Check. This isn’t immediately relevant, but it does show that you’re made of the right material. Someone who is reliable and trustworthy enough to work with children will be exhibiting the right qualities to work in aged care. However, if you don’t have one, don’t stress about obtaining it — these othe three are more important. Start small with a traineeship or a part-time job The truth is, 66% of employees working in aged care work part-time. So while it’s perfectly fine to try to get a job without prior experience, you could be setting yourself up for disappointment if you only apply for premium, full-time roles at prestigious companies. It could therefore be beneficial to start with a paid traineeship. A traineeship usually comes with the bonus of undertaking a Certificate III in Individual Support — so not only do you get the main qualification for the industry, you also develop some valuable experience as well. It’s basically hitting two birds with one stone, and it can be one of the most promising ways to start an aged care career. By putting these three together — emphasising skills on your resume, making sure to tick off those more minor qualifications, and aiming for positions within your ability — your job searches in this industry will be much more fruitful. Whatever you choose to do, working in aged care can be one of the most rewarding careers you choose. Plus, this is a rapidly growing field given Australia’s ageing population, so don’t feel down if you’ve never worked in this industry before — the most important thing is your attitude and work ethic. Everyone starts somewhere, right?
What is A Good Objective For A Child Care Resume

What should you write for your child care resume objective? Well, the best objective statement would instantly make the recruiter fall in love with you, convince them you’re the best person in the world for a child care job, and win you a contract worth $200,000 (or more) on the spot. Obviously, resume objectives like this don’t exist. Instead, it’s important to keep it simple. Let’s look at a really simple and appropriate child care objective that’s perfectly adequate, although it won’t magically land you your dream job: Enthusiastic and creative early education teacher with three years of experience working as a Child Care Worker at [XYZ Company]. Proven history of managing classrooms of up to 20 children, especially in the 3- to 5-year age range. Earned a Certificate IV in School Age Education from [ABC Education Provider] and currently hold a Working with Children Check. Seeking an Associate Teacher role with [Company Name]. This is the stock standard child care objective statement and will be what you see in 80 percent of resumes. Depending on what you want, it’s probably too long, but if you submitted this it’d be perfectly adequate for a regular child care job. Let’s take a closer look at it. The experience-based objective statement The resume objective seen above is all about what you’ve done — your work experience, qualifications, and most important area of expertise within child care. It serves as a basic, effective introduction to a standard child care worker resume. Let’s inspect another example of an experience-based objective to see how the statement is structured. (1) Dedicated child care specialist with five years of experience in kindergarten and preschool classrooms. (2) Demonstrated ability to lead up to 20 children at a time in activities including reading, drawing, singing, games, and related activities. (3) Earned a certification in Early Childhood and a First Aid qualification from [ABC Education Provider]. (4) Seeking an Assistant Caregiver position with [XYZ Company]. For comparison: (1) Early education teacher with three years of experience working as a Child Care Worker at [XYZ Company]. (2) Proven history of managing classrooms of up to 20 children, especially in the 3- to 5-year age range. (3) Earned a Certificate IV in School Age Education from [ABC Education Provider] and currently hold a Working with Children Check. (4) Seeking an Associate Teacher role with [Company Name]. (Again, both of these are possibly too long, and you can delete any of these sentences except the first, but it’s for illustrative purposes a longer resume objective is used.) The first sentence of each objective statement introduces your current job (‘child care specialist’ or ‘early education teacher’), says how many years of work experience you have, and gives a bit of detail on past roles. The second sentence explains your main area of expertise. You can think of it as your best strength. For the first objective, this person is an expert at managing children in the 3- to 5-year range; for the second, it’s the ability to lead all those fun activities for kids. The third sentence is pretty straightforward — it talks about your relevant child care qualifications. It’s probably the first one that could be removed, because you’ll be putting it in the middle of your resume anyway. The fourth sentence is equally straightforward, summing up the actual objective or purpose — the fact that you’d like a job with the company you’re currently applying for. Whenever you make a new application, you should change this sentence based on the job description. Now, if this sounds formulaic — it’s meant to be. This experience-based resume objective is the safest and often the most effective, but it won’t win points for creativity. If you don’t like this, the next type of child care resume objective allows for more flexibility. The skills-based objective summary There’s a few things that every good child care worker resume should be answering. You need to have strong skills in time management, communication and organisation; you should have past work experience in child care, especially with infants and toddlers; and you should be a patient, considerate, enthusiastic person. Your resume objective, therefore, can focus more on your skills and what you bring to the job as a child care worker. Furthermore, especially in this industry, the skill-based objective summary should mention your best personality traits. (It’s important to understand what ‘personality’ means in the context of a resume, however — it doesn’t mean you talk about how you like playing golf or about your favourite kind of music. Resumes aren’t dating profiles.) Here are two examples to see what a skills-based resume looks like: (1) Energetic and caring child care expert with enormous passion for guiding, teaching, and developing children and infants. (2) Strong multitasking and organisational skills with the ability to manage classrooms of up to 20 children at a time. (3) Seeking to boost children’s self-esteem and inspire their imagination with a caring, compassionate attitude. (1) I am a passionate and dependable child care worker with a genuine love for children. (2) Backed by my excellent communication and interpersonal skills, I am able to manage and excited to connect with children of all personality types. (3) In my work, I am always looking to make a real difference in children’s lives. (If you notice, the last sample of the resume objective is the only one written in first person. Using the first person is often unnecessary in the experience-based objective summary.) The first sentence of these skill-based objectives mentions your personality traits (‘Energetic and caring’, or ‘passionate and dependable’) and also explains why you enjoy a child care job. Immediately, this makes this resume objective feel more intimate than the first kind. The second sentence is still quite similar in stating your main area of expertise in child care, although it focuses more on what skills you bring (‘multitasking and organisational skills’, or ‘communication and interpersonal skills’). The third sentence also contains the objective, but instead of mentioning the specific role you want, it’s about a more personal idea of how you want
The Fastest Way To Land A Job: Learn How To Talk To Job Consultants

What’s the number one mistake most job seekers fall into when finding a new role? Maybe this sounds familiar: you boot up your computer, log onto Seek, and fire off resumes to every job advertisement that looks vaguely interesting. Does this work? Absolutely not! In 2020, a more refined job seeking strategy is required. It’s not unlikely that you’re competing with upwards of 500 people for one position. No matter how skilled you are or how pretty your resume looks, those odds don’t seem great. However, there’s another job search strategy that is currently the fastest and most efficient way to dramatically accelerate your career development. It requires more effort and brainpower than mindlessly firing off resumes, but that’s why it works. What’s the key? You need to speak with job consultants directly. The only problem? It’s hard. As a former recruiter, I know that almost no candidates out there are utilising this strategy. So here’s a comprehensive, step-by-step guide on how to proactively reach out to job consultants and land your dream job. Step 1: Research the recruiter directly In order to speak to job consultants confidently and network your way into a job, the first step is to research. Luckily, these days every recruitment consultant has a LinkedIn profile and aims to build their social media branding, so research has become a lot easier. Basic research involves a quick Google search with the recruiter’s full name (plus possibly their company) and seeing what comes up. As a bonus, you can often find their professional email address in this way. Look at what job advertisements the recruitment consultant usually posts — are they within your area? It’s even better if they’ve done videos or posted articles, because you can get a feel for the way the recruiter thinks. In your research, you should be able to answer these basic questions: What industry does this job consultant recruit for? Do they have a specific niche? How many years of experience do they have? Have they always worked for this company, or do they have a varied career history? Are they a thought leader — have they posted articles and videos online? Research at more depth than this isn’t always possible, but these 5 questions will arm you with plenty of knowledge to impress recruitment consultants. By the way, research isn’t something you just do to impress the recruiter. If the answers to these five questions are unsatisfactory to you, then you shouldn’t bother connecting with this recruiter at all. If you are interested in them, however, here’s what you should do next: Step 2: Keep your introduction simple Once you’ve done your preparation and identified the best job consultants to talk to, the next (and oftentimes most nerve-racking) question then pops up: What do you say? Well, when you first connect with a recruiter, they have no idea who you are or why you’re talking to them. Recruitment consultants speak to lots of people, so if you don’t introduce yourself properly, they may think you’re some Hiring Manager from months ago that they’ve forgotten. So you have to introduce yourself. And in introductions, the rule is to keep it as succinct and simple as you can. (Whether you communicate over email, with a text message, on a phone call, or in person, it’s all strategically the same. Just choose whichever way feels most comfortable to you.) To introduce yourself, state your name, your current job, and why you’re contacting them. Are there any tricks to it? Definitely — don’t use any tricks whatsoever. (And maybe make sure your email address isn’t inappropriate.) If that’s not simple enough, here’s a sample introduction for you to use: Hi, my name’s [Harry Potter]. I’m a web developer with Google. We haven’t talked before, but I wanted to get in touch with you because I saw the positions you usually post are completely in line with my career aspirations. I also saw your blog posts on [random topic] and was very impressed by your insights into [specific part of random topic]. Would you be free to chat with me during [XYZ time range] on any job opportunities you may have? The only difficult part of your introduction is explaining why you’re contacting them, and you already have the perfect answer. You’re talking to this recruitment consultant because you’re impressed by their history and interested in the types of jobs they usually post. See what I mean about no tricks? You just want to tell the recruiter about yourself as efficiently as possible. Don’t try to ‘build rapport’ or chat about obscure interests you found about them online. Once you’ve introduced your current role, it’s up to the job consultant to decide whether they want to keep talking to you. Unfortunately, in your job search, just like in life, you’ll never have a 100 percent success rate. Maybe you have two years of experience and the recruiter prefers to deal with senior candidates. Maybe you lack a niche skill they’re looking for. Whatever the reason, if you connect with recruiter and the conversation falls apart at your introduction, it’s important to not be disheartened. There’s nothing you can change at this point; not all of us have prestigious career histories as CEO of a 50 million dollar company. Explain your role and tell them you’re looking for a job, and if they’re not interested, you move on with no regrets. Step 3: Share your USP, or most unique strength On the other hand, if they are interested, a good recruiter will almost immediately transition the conversation into a type of interview, where they’ll ask basic questions about your work experience and strengths and see if they really do have a position relevant to you. So do you pretty much treat it like an interview? Not quite. Remember, there’s a subtle but extremely significant shift in this conversation: you contacted them first. Therefore, you’ve already shown a lot of strengths that the recruiter doesn’t usually see: You’ve demonstrated your initiative to take the lead in your own job seeking strategy.
The demise of social skills

It would be pertinent enough, from the fast-moving digital world amidst its extensive evolution, for one to appreciate the role and importance of social skills in our lives. Need it be said that the skills of the social factor, by the communication of thoughts, interaction with others, and steering oneself through situations, may play a vital role in personal and professional life. The changeable times of technology and social life have, however, obviously caused deterioration in these very principal skills. This decline, not just in personal or individual concern but involving things to do with societal development, is a big worry. Social skills are probably the very basis of human development: creation and maintenance of healthy relationships, cooperation in building cohesive communities. It can be broadly defined as the ability of individuals to get along with one another. The range of abilities includes verbal and non-verbal communication, showing empathy and actively listening, conflict resolution, reading of social cues, etc. Social skills are developed or polished over the span of one’s life, right from early childhood to adult life. They truly project and identify various aspects about a person in his views of the world and the world’s view of him, from relations between friends and family to business networking and development of careers. It cuts across the whole population despite posing more alarming problems in children and youths. With the fast-growing trend of social media use and the increase in the use of digital communication, face-to-face interactions have transformed into rare experiences. This type of interaction has potential grave effects on developing social skills of children since they are still in the process of learning the right ways to interact with the people around them. The Impact on Social Skills for Children Social skills in children are very fundamental to their all-round development. At the early stages of childhood, children obtain commands of how to communicate, partake in sharing, cooperation, and conflict resolution by having direct linkage to their peers and adults. Such experiences culminate as a very important part in their development of social competence, therefore helping them build meaningful relationships and successfully navigate social situations later in life. Unfortunately, at this time and age, a lot of children do not have these experiences due to increased screen time and digital interaction. Overdependence on digital gadgets, according to researchers, is going to hugely hamper the development of social skills in children. A child would lose interaction more with people than with the screen. He would also not be able to read body language and learn how to empathize. Although these are essentially social relationship competencies, they are no less important in academic achievements when children are required to work in teams, consider different perspectives, and control their emotions. Social Skills Training: An Intervention in Demand This alarming downward trend being observed in social skills now creates an equal need for social skills training as an intervention measure. Social skills training refers to a program of structured lessons aimed at instructing people in effective ways of relating with others. These are the training programs that would most be helpful to children and young adults who, besides being hyperactive, miss out on the development of these skills quite naturally as an outcome of limited socializing. Social skills training, on the other hand, emphasizes more the teaching of concrete social skills, such as eye contact, initiation of talk, and sensitivity to social cues. The programs also include role-playing activities done in groups with feedback, so the participants have the chance to practice and enhance such skills. This way, training develops confidence and competence in those individuals willing to learn how to navigate their way within social situations and helps them do so within a non-threatening environment most conducive to learning. Examples of Social Skills: What Are We Losing? Specific social skills examples can help highlight this decline better. Among the more important social skills lost in the world today is the ability to hold good conversations. This, owing to the ever-increasing use of text messaging and social media, is gradually getting eroded, with specific hostility from the younger generation. All the subtleties of verbal communication, such as tone, pacing, and the ability to answer in real-time, are lost in digital exchanges. This can be almost entirely fine, causing miscommunication with the other party, weakening bonding, and lowering abilities to connect with the other on deeper levels. Take, for example, reading and reacting to the nonverbal: body language, facial expressions, and eye contact are major components of communication gotten through the digital format. A person accustomed to relate with others through the written word might in some ways be at a loss as the way to interpret such nonverbal signs and signals when relating face-to-face with others, hence leading to the misapplication of the intended meanings of words and hence a limited level of miscommunication and social awkwardness. Another important social skill that is in peril is empathy. Empathy and feeling for another are part and parcel to understanding others, which makes forming close relations possible and gives ground for cooperation. However, digital contacts can make a sense of distance, which will later make emotional connections hard to get. A side effect of the same might be people getting less and less in tune with the needs and feelings of other people, hence exhibiting less empathetic behavior. How to Build Your Social Skills: Ideas to Go the Other Way Fortunately, social skills can be developed at any age if some conscious efforts and practices are made to it. For those who are concerned with the dwindling social skills, there are strategies about how to improve social skills and negate the ill effects of digital communication. Engage in More Face-to-Face Interactions: Although there are many means of inculcating good social skills, engaging in more face-to-face interactions is the best. There is hardly a closer call than social skills with family or meeting physical friends to engage in group activities, and such experiences offer
How to Stop Being Lazy: A Total Manual to Boosting Productivity

Nature of Laziness To overcome laziness, first understand what it really means to be lazy. Laziness need not be regarded as avoiding physical activity all the time; sometimes, it can be avoidance of work due to lack of motivation, fear of failure, or mental disorders. Therefore, once the cause has been identified, there will be a particular method to stop being lazy. Identify the Underlying Causes No Motivation The simple thing to do is to drop that thing which is not dear to the heart in work. Relate your tasks to personal goals or values, and it shall create motivation—stop being lazy. Fear of Failure Sometimes, it envelops and paralyzes us. Remember, failure is part of the growth in any way. Make a mind shift and quit being lazy. Mental Health Issues From depression to anxiety, several other mental health problems can lead a person to act lazy. Work on resolving such issues and notice how less lazy you’ll become by nature. Set Clear Goals that are Attainable SMART Goals Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals; setting these for oneself gives an absolute map on how do I stop being lazy and maintain focus on the map. Maintain a Rhythmic Routine As it is believed, a very well-organized routine can help greatly in fighting against being lazy due to decreased decision fatigue. Everyday routine makes tasks less overwhelming and helps use your time wisely. Morning Routine This will help you kick-start your day with activities that will propel your productivity. Maybe you would like to do some exercise or meditation. Any of these activities will keep you in a positive note for the day and help keep laziness at bay. Time Blocking Schedule specific time blocks for when to work and when to break. This structure helps manage time and keeps one away from procrastination; hence, it doesn’t provide room to be lazy. Develop Good Habits Physical Activity Acquire regular exercise, such that you feel high-spirited and vigorous. Such avenues fight being lazy. Balanced Diet Eat effective food that keeps people energetic and focused. Avoid too much coffee and sugar because it makes a person sluggish and lazy. Good Sleep Have at least 7-8 hours of sound sleep to keep away fatigue and lack of motivation, which can be the underlying reason for being lazy. Productivity Techniques Pomodoro Technique Work in stretches of focused time followed by a few-minute break to maintain concentration and avoid being lazy. Two Minute Rule If it can be done in less than two minutes, do it right now. This keeps tasks from building up and teaches you how to stop being lazy. Eisenhower Matrix Focus on urgency versus importance to prioritize tasks. This will let you deal with the most important things in your life and avoid the distractions which will help you in being lazy. How NOT to Procrastinate Divide Tasks Break down big tasks into small steps so that one does not get overwhelmed and thus stops being lazy. Positive Reinforcement Reward yourself for completing tasks in order to get motivated enough towards working harder and enjoying working. Be Accountable Share your goals with someone who can help keep you accountable and prevent procrastination. Eliminate Distractions Set Up an Optimal Environment Create a workspace that is going to minimize distractions to help one remain focused on tasks at hand and stop being lazy. Digital Distractions Distractive sites and notifications can be removed with the help of tools during the periods of work. Setting Realistic Boundaries Work from home and setting clear boundaries can also result in minimizing the number of disruptions to maintain focus. Acquiring a Growth Mindset Embrace the Challenges Challenges can be viewed as the source of growth. Any person with a growth mindset will adopt the attitude of persistence and resilience toward performing tasks, which really makes it easy to stop being lazy. Learn from Your Mistakes Every failure is a learning time. Meditate on where it went wrong and how one can improve, rather than letting it add to being lazy. Celebrate Progress Acknowledge and celebrate all your progress, however small. This builds motivation and reinforces positive behavior. Seek Professional Help if Necessary Seek professional advice if your being lazy is really proving to have an impact on your life and the other strategies are just not working for you. Mental health professionals help patients to sort out some of the root causes, such as anxiety, depression, and sometimes low self-esteem.With the adoption of these above strategies, you are well on your way to overriding being lazy and increasing your productivity.
Choose A Right Mentor for Career Growth

Who are you taking knowledge from? When a person is looking to change their career or is looking to further advance their current career, it is a good idea to seek the advice of a mentor. A mentor is an experienced person who can guide others in the right direction by sharing their wisdom and knowledge in a particular area of expertise. When a student is looking for a mentor (or is being assigned one through their employer), there are a few key things to keep in mind for the exercise to be successful. These things are: Find a mentor that will uplift you spiritually, there is a soul inside this vessel (body). So feeding one and neglecting the other can be detrimental. Find someone who will be truthful and won’t sugar coat what the industry is like. A mentor should be able to give realistic examples about the job and an employer’s expectations so that a person will have a good idea about what to expect. Someone who can confidently answer questions without having to guess the answers. A mentor should be genuinely knowledgeable about the chosen subject or career. Someone you have common ground with makes a good mentor. They are easier to relate to on a personal level and there is more chance of the mentor and the pupil understanding each other. They will make you feel comfortable when voicing any questions, issues or concerns without putting the student down. A person who has similar values to your own is also a good trait to search for. There is no point seeking guidance from a person if the ethical values clash. A mentor should have good communication skills. They must be able to clearly define emphatically what it is a person is seeking to learn. Someone who will challenge a student to improve on every level but without degrading or demeaning. To gain new skills, quite often a person will have to step outside of their comfort zone – a good mentor will confidently help a person navigate through this process. A mentor can be a younger person. Although wisdom can come with age and experience, some people are just born with natural leadership and learning abilities. They don’t even have to be the same gender as the student either. Most importantly, find a mentor who can help establish a good level of trust with the student. Being able to confide weaknesses is without feeling ashamed or embarrassed is crucial for the student’s psychological growth. If the mentor has been assigned by a company or workplace, employees quite often feel as though they are obligated to stick with them and not say anything. Quite often this is not the case and this can be quite detrimental to a student’s learning experience. Speak to your employer if things really aren’t working out – if there are a clash of cultural or ethical issues, poor communication or there is no trust between the two parties, finding a new mentor is probably the best option.
Working for Yourself vs Someone Else: Pros & Cons

What works for you? People will often reach a point in their lives where they will begin to question whether staying in paid employment is the best option or whether it would be better to take a chance with branching out and starting their own business. Before rushing into work with a resignation, there are a few pros and cons that need to be weighed up first. As with both arguments, working for someone else can have its benefits and its downfalls. It all comes down to what is best for the individual. Paid employment means a regular, stable income. There is no worry about whether the business is running at a profit as that is usually the owner’s burden to carry. Employees don’t have to worry about paying their own tax or making super contributions because that is all taken care of by management. Big business decisions are normally the responsibility of management or the owners. The burden of profit and loss doesn’t (usually) fall on the heads of the employees. Work hours are generally set – employees know exactly when they will be at work and when they have free time (except in the cases of overtime). Work responsibilities stay at work. There is no free overtime like people who own a business often have. Retirement years are usually predetermined – every industry has a cut off point for what age employees are expected to stay working. People in paid employment have a goal age in sight for when they can stop work and enjoy life. Working independently also can have many benefits. Some of these are: Work hours are set by the individual. They can work when it suits them. This can be especially handy for people with a busy family life: it gives parents a chance to attend special school functions or events that would be missed when working for someone else. There is no more putting up with annoying or incompetent work colleagues or bossy bosses. Your income potential is no longer capped. When working for ‘the man’, employees are mostly limited by how much income they can make. When owning your own business, this only depends on how much the business is making. You only work as hard as you want to. If a slow slack day is in order, there is no one standing over you to dictate otherwise. But in saying that, a lot of hard work is needed to get a business up and running to be making a profit – it’s just now the individual’s choice about how that success is achieved. Independent business owners work with who they want. If extra help is required, they have the choice about who they hire instead of having to put up with a co-worker as they have no choice.
Can’t Find a Job? Smart Strategies for Job Seekers

Searching for a job is challenging and rewarding at the same time. Whether you are a professional seeking full-time, freelance, or even remote employment, having a structured approach to seeking employment will increase your chances of success with certainty. This guide will share some job-seeking strategies, both offline and online. Understanding Police Checks and Background Screening for Work Before diving into your job search, it’s important to be aware of specific requirements that might affect your applications, such as police checks. For positions in Victoria, a police check is often required, especially for roles involving working with vulnerable populations or in sensitive environments. Obtaining a police check Victoria can ensure that you meet the legal and professional requirements for your desired job. About How to Do a Job Search It is equally important to step back and reflect on how one seeks a job. This involves where you might be looking for the job, how to present yourself, and a few of the best tools. Here is a deep dive into these aspects. 1. Identify Your Job Search Goals You need to get clear as to what you need exactly in terms of job search. Ask yourself: What kind of job am I looking for? Do I want to work on a full-time, part-time, or freelance basis? Which industries or companies am I targeting? Having clear answers will help narrow your focus and streamline your search. Know Your Strengths and Skills Understanding your strengths and skills will allow you to go about finding job opportunities more effectively. It enables you to compare yourself-to see how your qualification meets the requirements of the position. Tailor your resume and cover letter to highlight relevant experiences by presenting your background. Establish Realistic Job Search Expectations The job market demands awareness of its emerging trends, salary scales, and demands. The realistic expectations under the circumstances of market conditions will not let you get frustrated. 2. Review Your Resume and Cover Letter An updated and polished resume and cover letter are important in job hunting. Ensure that your resume and cover letter are updated, highlighting all the related skills and experience. For every application, tailor-make your cover letter, showing what the job requires. Resume Targeting customize your resume for each job application you are going to apply to. Take guidance from the qualification requirements. Also, make use of the keywords mentioned in the job description to beat the ATS. Write a Believable Cover Letter Let your cover letter reinforce and build on your resume. Give meaning to your experiences. This section explains how you will be a perfect fit for the position and how you are interested in it. 3. Use Job Search Engines This will provide the avenues to seek employment through websites such as Indeed, LinkedIn, and Glassdoor. Refine your search by typing in keywords and using filters, and create a job alert that notifies you of a new opening. Optimize Your Job Search Strategy Put filters on job listings and search using search parameters. Save your searches and set up alerts that will help return notifications on job openings relevant to your criteria. Explore Niche Job Boards “#” Aim at Niche Job Boards Job boards that are specific to industries often carry out job listings that the bigger sites do not include. Utilize the boards that are super-niche and are relevant to your career industries to spot these hidden job markets . 4. Network and Make Contacts Networking can really work wonders with your job search. Network with folks in the industry of your interest, attend network gatherings, and use LinkedIn. Attend Industry Events and Conferences Attend industry events and conferences to grab information and precious contacts. It will help you in knowing about job opportunities as well as industry trends. Network through Online Platforms Utilize online platforms like LinkedIn by connecting with industry leaders or join groups of relevance. Participate in the group discussions so that your professional network increases. Finding work from home jobs There is definitely enough work to be found in remote online work if you only know where to look. So here are some tips and strategies to optimize the remote job search: Use Remote Job Boards They have tons of remote work-specific job boards like FlexJobs and We Work Remotely. There’s indeed a pretty great number of opportunities available with a mixture of full-time and part-time remote jobs. Research Companies that are friendly to remote work: Identify companies or organizations that are known for hiring remote employees. Proceed with visiting their websites and exploring the opportunities as well to understand what their remote work policy looks like. Tailor Your Resume for Remote Work It is important to include self-management skills and timekeeping, perfect for remote work. Experiences of working away from the office can also be added with examples. 2. Get to Remote-Friendly Companies You will find a list of companies that have already established some form of policy for remote work. Check their career pages and look for positions that are exclusively remote. Look for Startups and Tech Companies Generally, startups and tech companies are more open towards flexible and remote standards of work as compared to established companies. Coworker opportunities in such kinds. Finding Work Experience Relevant work experience might be all that stands between you and your next job. Here’s how to build your experience: Appointments, Internships, and Volunteer Positions Internships and volunteer positions can afford very useful experience. More to this, they improve one’s CV. Source for such opportunities in your business domain. Find Internships in Your Field Search for Internships that can assist in developing the career of your dream. These opportunities will give practical exposure and could even turn into a full-time job. Volunteer on related projects Help on projects or with volunteer jobs related to the profession you are in. It will show prospective employers your level of dedication and skills. FREELANCE Freelancing can help a portfolio and gain experience through many sites. Upwork or Freelancers have hundreds
Write a Perfect Resume: Expert Tips Inside

You will need “the perfect resume” if you are seeking to be successful in any competitive job market. Your résumé is supposed to be your personal selling document, which outlines all of your experiences and expertise to interested parties within the confines of the job market. From here, you will want to get about making “my perfect resume” that effectively brings out your strengths if you are ever to rise above competition and secure that dream job. It would be helpful in the step involved to “build my perfect resume” that appears in the form of an action whose doors open automatically to an opportunity. Create a Tailored Resume The success of “the perfect resume” lies in the manner in which a tailored resume is crafted for a particular job application. Any haphazardly written, unfocused generic resume has little chance to make its way past the hiring manager. Learn how to do this appropriately: Break Down the Job Description Read through the job posting description. List the skills, qualifications, and experiences an employer is looking for in a job candidate. Highlight any key words or phrases in the posting. Emphasize Relevant Skills and Experiences Consider the various skills that you have and experiences that best fit the requirements of the job. Tailor your resume towards these aspects. Suppose the job requires experience in project management; then, emphasize your relevant projects done and achievements in this line. Personalize Your Summary Make sure that your resume summary reflects the top qualifications specified by the employer in the description of the job. Such a personalized strategy will let “my perfect resume” carry the right message to the employer, thereby improving the chances of its visibility by him. Use Professional Format A clean, organized, and professional format is one of the most important things when making “the perfect resume”. Your resume structure needs to be clean, pristine, modern, and very easy to read. Here is how you do it: Clear Headings Have clear and distinct headings for the sections, such as “Experience,” “Education,” and “Skills.” This will help the hiring manager get the information quickly and easily. Bullet Points Use bullet points while mentioning your achievements and responsibilities. The bullet points will break up big squares of words and will make “the perfect resume” highly swimmable. Consistent Formatting See to it that your resume is formatted uniformly throughout. This includes font type, font size, and spacing. Same formatting conveys professionalism and attention to detail. Modern Format Ensure that it is in a format that is embraced by modern business. The designs should not be too intricate, nor should the colors be too many. A clean and modern formatting will make the contents clear to the reader’s eye and will ensure “the perfect resume” shall please the eye. Effective Summary This is where you want to make that first impression: the summary section. It’s where an effective summary encapsulates your professional identity, clearly showing your qualifications. Here’s how to create one: Professional Identity State your professional identity; for example, “Experienced Marketing Manager with a verifiable track record in developing successful campaigns.” Key Qualifications Underline only those qualifications and achievements that are most important for the job. Mention additional relevant skills and experiences that make you special and outstanding compared to other applicants. Career Summary Pull it all together in a few sentences with a summary of your career. Highlight the accomplishments to demonstrate value and potential to employers. A good summary is part of “the perfect resume” because it gives the tone for the rest of your document and sets a hook that will draw in your reader’s interest. Bringing Out Your Achievements While describing work experience, mention not only the job responsibilities but, more importantly, the achievements. Quantify your success with specific metrics. Instead of “Managed a team,” you can say “Managed a team of 10; improved efficiency of the project by 20%.” Action Verbs All answers should be prefaced by a very strong action verb—“Led,” “Developed,” “Implemented.” Action verbs are powerful and they do convey a sense of activity. Result-Oriented Language Result-oriented language makes a statement that emphasizes impact. Example: “Increased sales revenue by 30% through strategic marketing activities.” In doing so, you develop “the perfect resume” where all of your contributions have been presented in specific terms, and the value that you bring to the employer is easy to evaluate. Relevant Keywords for the Job Relevant keywords and key phrases should be added in proper form to make up “the perfect resume” that beats the applicant tracking systems. This is how you can add keywords: Industry-Specific Terms Research Think about industry-specific terms and jargon that are already present in a job posting. Integrate those keywords organically within the resume. Use Language From Job Posting Utilize the same language and key terms that are used within the posting. For instance, if it is “digital marketing,” type that phrase word for word if it could be used in your resume. Balance Keyword Usage Your resume summary should include Keywords but don’t overstuff your resume with keywords. Make sure those key phrases are used naturally and contextually in the different parts of your resume. “The perfect resume” includes relevant keywords that grant your resume the best chance of passing through ATS and hiring manager filters. Brevity An important characteristic of “the perfect resume” is brevity. Your resume should be concise but informative enough to give readers all relevant information about your qualification. To be brief: One or Two Pages Ideally, keep your resume to one or two pages at most, depending on your experience. Early-career professionals should keep the resume to one page; those with more extensive experience may extend to two pages. Small Paragraphs Make use of small paragraphs that are transparent in laying down information. Avoid long, overwhelming paragraphs. Concise Sentences In explaining yourself, use tautological sentences. Avoid jargon or verbose sentences. For sure, with all the aforementioned tips, you will have “the perfect resume” that everyone can read, and a hiring