5 Key Parts of Your Return to Work After a Long Break

5 Key Parts of Your Return to Work After a Long Break5 Key Parts of Your Return to Work After a Long BreakReady to return to work after a long break out of the job market after raising kids or a similarly lengthy absence? Dont let the prospect overwhelm you. Gather your confidence (and a new interview outfit) and let the following five important steps set you up for success.Here are five tips to help you return to work after a long break or lengthy absence 1. Determine what you want out of your career.Before setting sights on picking up your career where it left off, be sure such an action fits your current objectives. Personal goals and priorities may have shifted during your time away. Maybe traveling for work no longer fits your lifestyle, or perhaps companies offering flex work look more attractive now than in the past. Even your interests or perceptions of meaningful work may be different than when you left, so honestly evaluate whether a tweak or a complete career change might be in order. 2. Evaluate your skills.Whether returning to your same industry or contemplating a new one, take stock of what you have to offer employers right now. While education and past experiences certainly shape your candidacy, you cant rely solely on past accomplishments. Examine relevant job ads and talk to people in your field to see what hiring managers find attractive. Update qualifications through classes or new certifications as necessary to improve marketability.3. Revamp your resume.Dont expect simply to dust off your old resume and be ready to go. Besides spending time creating an error-free, attention-grabbing document, be aware of the need to make what you submit compatible with applicant tracking systems (ATS). Using appropriate keywords and formats can be vital to getting a resume past an automated scanner and looked at by human eyes.4. Create a positive online presence.Recruiters and potential employers undoubtedly will try to learn more about you through social m edia and other online sources, so let them discover something great. Develop your reputation through guest blogs, thoughtful contributions to groups, and perhaps your own website. Lizandra Vega, author ofThe Image of Successand blogger atThe Career Confidante, suggests creating a LinkedIn profile that aligns with your resume and includes a profile photo without your kids or significant other. Employers are not legally allowed to ask about status, so displaying this on your profile is opening yourself up for discrimination. Clients can make inferences such as maybe you cant stay late because you have to take care of children or maybe you dont need to work too hard because youre in a dual-income household. Keep your profile professional and clean.Also, search on your name to see what else might be discovered. If results prove questionable, such as yielding what you thought were private pictures from your beach vacation, adjust privacy settings or see about getting things removed.5. Ma ke networking a priority.Finally, dont be shy about letting others know youre back on the job market. Start with past coworkers and other professional connections, but also bring up the subject with friends, neighbors, and acquaintances from volunteer work and social groups. And if you find your network lacking, seek new opportunities, such as attending an industry conference or going to your alma maters Homecoming celebration. You never know who might have a viable leadGet more tips straight to your inbox. Sign up for our newsletter You may unsubscribe at any time.Readers, are you looking to return to work after a long break? Have you recently done so? What challenges or tips would you share with others in a similar situation? Let us know below

Data Entry JobsSalaries and Skills Required

Data Entry JobsSalaries and Skills RequiredData Entry Jobs- Salaries and Skills RequiredData entry is one of those jobs thats pretty much what it sounds like- the entry of clear and concise data into one or more platforms so that its easily accessible and understandable to others. Those others might be humans or computer systems. Pay for data entry from home can range considerably, from as little as $1 per hour up to the average rate for an office-based data entry operator- about $15 an hour as of 2017. Its an organizational process, moving information from one format into another, and youd be hard-pressed to find a business or organization that doesnt need to consolidate and organize its relevant data. The position is sometimes referred to as a data entry clerk or a keyer. Skills Required A data entry clerk should be a skilled typist and is typically required to pass a keyboarding test prior to being hired. He should also be able to interpret and understand multiple sources of d ata, from scribblings on paper to website responses. The job might include verbal transactions and entering data from recordings. He should also be familiar enough with the type of data hes working with that he can plektrum up on inconsistencies and other issues. Some data entry work can require additional skills and responsibilities, such as verifying data or editing, and these jobs typically pay more. The rate will be higher if its paid on a per-piece basis, but it will take more time to perform, so the overall pay could be less for someone who is not as skilled. Education Requirements Data entry clerks typically do not need postsecondary education or degrees. A high school diploma or GED is satisfactory, although some community colleges and vocational schools do offer certificate programs in this field. Holding a certificate might not be necessary, but it will look good on a resume and set you a step or two ahead of other candidates for a position. The Effect of Experience Job duties can vary somewhat depending on the level of experience. New data entry clerks might only be expected to enter accurate data as quickly as possible. Volume is often as much of a goal as precision. More experienced data entry clerks might be expected to interpret and channel recorded information to the proper supervisor or department, and even oversee other clerks, all while maintaining lightning speed with their own workloads. Data Entry Salary Information Data entry salary information can vary considerably based on a lot of different factors, including your position as an employee or an independent contractor, the difficulty and skill level required by the position, and the speed at which you can do the job. But overall, data entry jobs generally pay modest wages. Any organization that promises big salaries for data entry jobs is more than likely a data entry scam. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), data entry keyers- not transcriptionists or typists - are paid a mean hourly wage of nearly $15.64 an hour as of mid-2017, from a low of $10.37 an hour for new hires up to $22.24 an hour for a more experienced worker employed by a generous company. This works out to about $32,530 annually, but salaries can depend heavily on the area where you work and live. Five states are known for ample data entry jobs as well as paying a decent wage, according to the BLS California, Texas, Illinois, New York, and Florida. unterstellung wage figures apply to employment jobs in brick-and-mortar offices, not necessarily data entry from home. And most work-at-home data entry jobs are not employment positions but independent contracting. Data Entry Pay Structures Data entry pays using a variety of rate structures, including an hourly rate, per-piece payment, keystrokes per hour, or keystrokes per minute. The job might also pay per work or per audio minute. Of course, no jobs will advertise $1-per-hour work, but complicated per-piece pay structures can actually work out to be that little. These other pay structures are designed to pay more to faster, more experienced data entry operators.But a worker must earnat least the minimum wage in the state in which the work is performed in employment positions in the U.S. that pay in any structure other than an hourly wage. Transcription jobs are sometimes advertised as data entry. These jobs can sometimes require more skill and accuracy so theyll pay more than simple data entry keying jobs. Work-at-Home vs. Office Data Entry Job Salaries Data entry jobs from home are likely to pay less than data entry in an office. Its not simply a matter of home-based workers often being willing to earn less in exchange for working from home. Data entry from home is almost always performed by independent contractors who arent subject to minimum wage laws. These jobs might be in competition with other global jobs from home or micro labor positions, which can also lower pay rates. The way in which data entry work is sent to home-based workers can also affect pay. Workers who log on to crowdsourcing or micro labor sites might not be able to obtain enough pieces of work in an hour to make a good wage. Job Growth Significant job growth isnt expected in this field due to advancements in technology that in many respects are replacing human fingers. Additionally, many companies are beginning to offshore these duties, farming them out to remote, third-party companies in countries where labor is cheaper. Job growth in the U.S. is expected to drop by about 2 percent in the decade from 2016 to 2026.

Take the 2016 Federal Resume Quiz

Take the 2016 Federal Resume QuizTake the 2016 Federal Resume QuizTake the 2016 Federal Resume QuizWelcome to 2016Maybe its time to start your federal job search, or maybe you have been job searching for awhile and need a new plan. Either way, its a good time to evaluate your federal resume to make sure you are on the right track.Answer the questions below to score your federal resumeResume Lengtha. My federal resume is 1-2 pages in length.b. My federal resume is 6+ pages in length.c. My federal resume is 3-5 pages in length.Dates of Employmenta. I do leid list any dates of employment on my federal resume.b. I list the year started and the year ended.c. I list the month and year started and the month and year ended for each job block.Federal Resume Formata. I use mostly bullets in my federal resume.b. I use one big paragraph for each job block.c. I use separate paragraphs of reasonable length for each job block but no keyword headers.d. I list the oldest job first in my federal resum e.e. I use separate paragraphs of reasonable length in reverse chronological order with keyword headers for each paragraph.Keywordsa. I do not use any keywords in my federal resume.b. I use keywords from just the occupational series.c. I use keywords from just one vacancy announcement to apply for all positions.d. Each time I apply, I update my resume with keywords from the vacancy announcement.Accomplishmentsa. I do not add any accomplishments into my federal resume.b. I add one or two accomplishments in my federal resume.c. I add 1-3 accomplishments for each job block in my federal resume.One Year Specialized Experiencea. I do not ever check if I meet the One Year Specialized Experience for a position when I apply.b. I check whether I meet the One Year Specialized Experience, but I do not add it to my federal resume when I apply.c. I check whether I meet the One Year Specialized Experience for each application, and I add this information to my federal resume each time I apply.Answ ersThere is only ONE correct answer for each question above if you want to get hired into the federal government in 2016.Yes, just one.You may be tempted to think I can apply for federal jobs with my two-page private industry resume, or I dont really need to update my federal resume every time I apply. Dont fall into these traps. There is no shortcut for writing a federal resume that will get you hired.Your federal resume must correctly hit each and every point mentioned above in order to be successful in competing for federal jobs. Dont skip over any of these points thinking that they are not completely necessary.The common sense tip for your federal resume Make sure your federal resume is 100% complete before you waste time and job opportunities 2016.(The correct answers for the quiz are the last choice for each 1c 2c 3e 4d 5c 6c) Need Help?If you need help to make sure your federal resume meets all of the requirements, let us know.The best way to get started is for us to review y our resume for you to landsee whether your resume hits all the requiredpoints. Its a very low-priced service ($49.95) that we offer that provides you critical information to move forward with your federal job search.Just fill out this shortintake form to get started.Or, contact us if you have other questions about our services. Paulina Chen has a passion for taking the complex and making it simple for people to understand. Paulina has been a graphic designer, developmental editor, and webmaster for The Resume Place for over 10 years. Since receiving her Certified Federal Job Search Trainer certification, she has been eager to show federal applicants that writing your best possible federal resume is within your reach. If you need expert advice or training, Kathryn Troutman the Federal Resume Guru is your best bet on the planet.