4 Benefits of Conducting Exit Interviews

4 Benefits of Conducting Exit Interviews To put it simply, an exit interview is an interview which is conducted with an employee who is leaving the company. Its rather similar to when youre employing someone for a role, but instead of asking questions about why they want the job and why they want to work for you, youre asking them for their reasons why they have left the job. This interview can be the key to solving many issues within the workplace and is a great chance for you to find out what areas your business is succeeding in and what areas perhaps need developing. So, what are the benefits of an exit interview? 1. Its cost-effective Taking into account that exit interviews dont take up too much time, incur a little cost and provide valuable information, they are definitely a useful tool which you can to add to human resources. Going through the strengths and weaknesses of the business with your employee in the form of a chat or an interview is also really easy to conduct and is a small investment which will reap maximum rewards. 2. You will learn and understand why people leave Learning why individuals choose to leave your organization will provide you with the details you need to fix the issue. The reasons are likely to vary from person to person and you need to understand whether it is a fault due to the organization, management or circumstances beyond your control. Possibly the employee was offered a role elsewhere with a higher salary, perhaps they are not seeing the progression that they were promised or maybe they are coping with personal issues which have caused them to leave. Knowing why someone has left will allow you to address any issues so that it doesnt happen again. 3. You will identify any problems within the company If youre thinking about conducting an exit interview then you obviously want to improve your business. You want to create a place where people want to work. Exit interviews offer you with the information you need to make the working environment better for employees and also to improve retention. A lot of questions asked during an exit interview refer to the working environment. It can be difficult to know how employees feel at work whilst under your management. Some questions you could ask include do you believe your job description has changed since you were hired? and what do you think the company can improve on? 4. Closure Exit interviews give you the chance to tie up any loose ends with an employee who is leaving. As well as asking questions about why they chose to leave, youll be able to provide them with information about their final pay and go through any documents which need to be completed by their last day. Its also nice for both the employer and employee to leave the working relationship on good terms. Although you wont find out everything you would like to know in an exit interview, its a great place to start in gaining an insight into why people leave. Receiving constructive criticism and putting improvements into place will provide a better experience for current employees as well as any future employees. About the author: Lauren Buck is a Criminology and Psychology graduate, freelance writer, blogger and Etsy store owner. She writes about a variety of topics including student and career advice for Inspiring Interns, which specializes in placing graduates in the best London roles.

Resume Writing Services In New York City

Resume Writing Services In New York CityWhen you are trying to search for a New York resume writing service, there are some important factors that you need to keep in mind. If you want to find the best New York resume writer, you need to ensure that they are proficient in your field. After all, the services provided are quite different and should be given special attention.There are many different types of resumes that are required in New York. There are forms such as: marketing, executive, academic, or creative, which are also made up of varied sections that are needed. When it comes to filling up these resumes, the person must have the best New York resume writing services to do the job well.The good things about having a professional resume in New York is that you can avoid having to pay very high fees to have it professionally printed out. The cost of having this done is quite high and it is most often done by people who are not experienced in doing this. However, the professiona l services are able to provide excellent results. This is because these professionals understand what needs to be done and how the professionals should be skilled at doing it.One major function of a resume is to display the individual's educational achievements. It should be written from the perspective of the applicant. While the applicant might have done a good deal in a particular field, it does not necessarily reflect on his or her abilities in general. For example, a student who has obtained a B average may be impressive in his or her work on sports but not necessarily so when it comes to their ability to cook the right food.Resume writing services in New York City will often be able to write resumes for individuals who have achieved degrees in specific fields. Students will usually choose to use these professionals who can easily write a good looking resume that features their impressive academic achievements. A student who is aiming for advancement in a certain field may opt to hire such a New York resume writing service to create an outstanding resume for his or her future job hunt.Resume writing services in New York City are usually quite capable of giving innovative resumes that include different sections such as: educational achievements, career paths, work experience, public service, interests, etc. It is also vital to get a professional resume writer to handle your resume properly. These are quite complex documents and the services will be able to handle them effectively.You can select a resume writer based on a specific field that you are targeting. For example, if you want to have a resume written for the marketing department, then you will need a professional resume writer to go through a lot of information and feedback to know exactly what the expectations are. This will enable him or her to make the most effective resume for your purposes.The resume services in New York City will often be able to outline the exact specifications that you need to be included in your resume. This is so they can provide you with the exact template that you will be able to use. The information is gathered from various sources such as education, experience, public service, and past work history, which makes it easier for you to be able to compose the resume that you want.

Is grad school right for you

Is grad school right for you Whether youre thinking of a top-tier MBA or a PhD in anthropology, there is a right way and a wrong way to approach graduate school. You need to understand your dreams, and what is required to achieve them. Also, you need to understand the marketplace, and what it values. If you dream of climbing ladders in the Fortune 500, get an MBA. The degree a VIP ticket to corporate life and a prerequisite for the top ranks. And if you have the luck of being in your 20s, dont wait, get the degree now, when it can get you a better starting job after you graduate. If youve already made headway in your career, youll still need that MBA, but when youre older its more like a career lubricant than a jump start: The degree has little impact on where you are now, but prevents you from getting stuck later. Think twice before cashing in your chips for less respected school. The top five or ten business schools have a much, much higher value in the business world than all the other business schools. If you attend the third tier school, do it at night because the cost to your checkbook and your career growth while youre in school do not outweigh the benefits of the degree youll earn. For some people, though, graduate school is not so much a way to fulfill a dream as a way to put off finding one. Thomas Benton, a pseudonym for an assistant professor who writes a column for the Chronicle of Higher Education, blames much of the flight to graduate school on grade inflation and fragile egos: Humanities majors are used praised from professors. Many recent grads return to school when they discover that not everyone thinks they are as great as their humanities teachers did. Humanities dont have the objective standards of business. Going back to grad school allows people to reestablish their ego. But it is short lived because they have to face the same market when they get out. So be honest with yourself. If youre going back to school because youre nostalgic for the days when you could get a good grade and a pat on the back. If youre looking for grad school to give you breathing room from the realities of adult life, you probably need a social worker more than you need another degree. Besides, breathing time in grad school only delays future feelings of suffocation. For example, MFA programs do not make you more creative, they make you more qualified to teach. And the academic job market is a nightmare. One out of five people who enter English literature PhD programs will get a job in that field. The rest will find themselves back at square one, waiting tables, albeit with improved literary banter, and looking for a career. Lost humanities students with an eye for cash and stability often enter law school because other professional schools require too much math or science. Yet the land of lost lawyers is full, too, which confirms that if you dont have a passion for what you are going to learn in graduate school, you shouldnt go. If you still think you might be best off at grad school, then heres a checklist of things you should do before you apply: 1. Try other jobs first. The people who do best in graduate school are those who dont use it to escape their terrible job life. So find decent alternatives to going back to school, and if you still want to go back to school then you should. 2. Determine if an advanced degree is necessary. Talk to people who are where you want to be in five years to ten years. If those people got there without a degree, then you probably can, too. 3. Take the passion test. Are you reading about your proposed graduate topic now, before you are in school? If youre not passionate enough about the subject matter to read about it on your own, then you should find something to pursue that excites you more.

Stand Firm On Your Speaking Rates - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Stand Firm On Your Speaking Rates - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career One of my problems as a professional speaker is that Ive often been too willing to speak for free. This bothered my wife and my business partner to no end because, they said, my time and knowledge are worth something, and that Im devaluing myself by speaking for free. So I finally took the time to figure out exactly what it cost me to speak for free, and was shocked at what I learned. It takes 2 7 hours to update or create a new slide deck and script. It takes anywhere from 30 minutes to 5 hours to get to where Im speaking, and the same amount to get back. I always arrive 1 2 hours early for setup, to familiarize myself with the room, and to fix any technical difficulties. This past Monday, I flew to North Carolina to give a talk on Tuesday. It took six hours just to get there; I turned around and flew home the next afternoon. My talk goes for 1 hour. I usually spend another hour talking with people after Im done The problem, I realized, is that when I agreed to give a free talk, I wasnt just giving them one free hour. I was actually giving up anywhere from 5 â€" 15 hours of my time, not counting my one hour talk, plus any travel expenses. When I look at how much money I charge clients per hour â€" and thats what Im actually giving up â€" I was losing anywhere from half a day to nearly two days of revenue to give that free one hour speech. Think of it this way. If you make $60,000 per year and work 2,000 hours per year, you earn $30 per hour. Imagine you dont get paid for the time you prepare your talk â€"  6 16 hours. All that time will run anywhere from $180 â€" $480 of lost income. Now add your travel expenses â€" gas, food, lodging â€" on top of that. Think that free speech is still worth it? Once I discovered what I was losing, I quit feeling bad about turning free engagements. Unless I know I can land a client who will pay me a monthly rate to make up for what I lost, I think very seriously about giving free talks. I still do them, but theyre much rarer these days. At the very least, I ask the organizer to cover my travel costs and buy up to 100 copies of one of my books. It doesnt always happen, but if the cause is worthwhile, Ill sometimes speak for free locally. The next time youre asked to speak for free, do the math and see what youre giving up. If they dont have the budget to pay you, ask if they can make alternate arrangements instead. Maybe they can cover travel costs or purchase your consulting services for a month. Maybe they can give you an honorarium instead of a payment (budgets are weird that way. Call it one thing, and you cant do it; call it another, and its okay). Or maybe they can make a donation to your favorite charity in your name. But dont be so eager to give it away for free. Once you start landing paid speaking gigs, youre a paid speaker. Youve taken a big step forward, dont take two steps back. If you have to speak for free, be very choosy about which ones you accept. Otherwise, hold out for the paying gigs. Youre a professional now; you deserve to be paid like one. Author: Erik Deckers  is the owner of  Professional Blog Service, and the co-author of  Branding Yourself: How to Use Social Media to Invent or Reinvent Yourself, which is now in its 2nd edition. He co-wrote his previous book,No Bullshit Social Media: The All-Business, No-Hype Guide to Social Media Marketing, with Jason Falls in 2011; both books are available at Amazon.com, Barnes Noble, and Books-A-Million. Erik is also a professional speaker. And he knows that none of this would have happened without Darrin.

First Resume - How to Make Your Resume Look Its Best

First Resume - How to Make Your Resume Look Its BestIt's difficult to make a resume work for you if you don't follow some basic rules of etiquette. After all, people are rarely impressed by what you have to say about yourself on your first attempt.When people read your resume, they will start at the top and work their way down. At the top, they will see your name and your title. In addition, you should list your work experience, education, areas of interest, employment history, letters of recommendation, employment dates, hobbies, etc. In order for your resume to work for you, it has to be attractive and well-organized.Most organizations employ people who have already been in the organization for some time. Their resumes will usually contain an overview of their time there. They may also provide a brief description of their work environment, which may be better than listing just the company.You will also want to be careful with the information on your resume. For example, you will be asked about your skills, skills that you should know before you apply for the job, job titles, and work experience for the job you are applying for.If your work experience is only part-time, and you don't have the required qualifications for the job, then you will be offered the job based on qualifications rather than on job experience. By this, we mean that companies will make you jump through hoops to prove that you can do the job before you get the job. This is not good for you should avoid it.One of the most important aspects of your first resume is the spelling and grammar. The best way to ensure your resume will look its best is to have proofread it. Even if you find errors in your resume, those mistakes are most likely not what employers are looking for. So before you submit your resume, go over it, and get rid of any unnecessary spelling and grammar mistakes.An extra information to include on your resume are any awards or recognitions you have received, and any volunteer wo rk that you have done. Although you might think that a place that doesn't hire its own employees will appreciate the fact that you have volunteered, this is not always the case. However, when it comes to volunteering, you should be honest, but you should also list your achievements so that your potential employer will know how well you have improved your skills and what you have learned from your volunteer work.There are some guidelines that you should follow in order to make your resume look its best. If you follow these simple rules, you will increase your chances of success when you send out your first resume.

How To Nail Your Entry-Level Job Search [INFOGRAPHIC] - CareerEnlightenment.com

Book review The crimson petal and the white - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Book review The crimson petal and the white - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog The crimson petal and the white by Michael Faber is a novel that by all rights I should hate. Its a 900 page long story set in victorian England in which very little happens. I ought to be bored to tears, but in reality the book gripped my like no other book Ive read recently. The reason: The characters. This book is driven almost totally by the people in it, and Faber brings them to life as deep, funny, interesting, sexy, confused, frustrated, brave, cowardly, weird and wonderful. Theres Sugar, the highly skilled prostitute who writes a secret novel in which she kills off innumerable men. Theres William Rackham, the aspiring intellectual who drives himself to take over his fathers perfume business. Theres Williams strange and beautiful wife, who teeters between high society and madness. And theres a whole host of other human beings (not merely characters), each of whom are brought to life in front of the readers eyes. The result is, that for all their flaws and failings, you end up caring deeply about what happens to them. The novel has another quirk: It speaks directly to the reader, and anticipating your every thought, leads you on a tour of Londons victorian stratified society. It lends a wonderful intimacy and drive to the story, and gives you the impression, that here is a tale told just for you. Its a wonderful book, and I recommend it highly. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related