Are you saying thanks enough in your job search - Hire Imaging

Are you saying “thanks” enough in your job search - Hire Imaging There have been pieces written for years on the value of the thank-you note. It’s not new. Yet, I talk with folks on a daily basis involved in the job search mix. Those who interview candidates. Those who help candidates. Those who are the candidates. It amazes me but it’s true; many of those   people in a job search still do not send thank-you notes. I come from the age where thank-yous were an ingrained etiquette. How can you expect the interviewer to be excited about you if you don’t follow up? More importantly, if you don’t, you miss your chance to throw your name in front again, reiterate something you wanted to say more about and show your excitement. And here’s the deal. I haven’t done an official survey, but I can tell you that in 30 years of working as a career coach, I hear all the time from hiring decision-makers that one of the top reasons people don’t get the job (or even final cut) is because they didn’t appear to be that interested. Can you say disconnect? So, a thank-you note or card is probably one of the most important tools in your kit. They are a must post-interview. But it’s more than that. There are (or should be) a host of players in your job search or career transition. That’s the gist of support teams and networking. Thank-you cards or notes make people feel good. They let people know you appreciate the time and effort they spent helping you. Someone who receives a thank-you is more likely to keep an eye open for you than someone who does not. How? Today’s technology says no excuses. How much time does it take to send a text or email from your smart phone or computer? Do that. I believe you should take it a step further. Thank-yous are more personal than any other job search tool and express your appreciation in informal language. While it is not a great idea to hand write any other job search communications most typically, it is good for thank-yous. I have never once, in all my years as a coach, heard someone complain for having received a hand-written thank-you. There’s a huge impact from writing in a world dominated by bullets, fonts and digital speak. Just one word of caution: write legibly. But it spews thought and time; it’s all good. Who? Quite simply, send thank-you cards to people who help with your job search. Employers you meet or speak with on the phone Contacts who give you company and employer names Friends who let their friends know you are looking for work Organizations who help you in your search Anyone else who helps you with your job search Samples With handwritten notes, it’s going to be short and meaningful. Here’s the gist through a few examples: Dear Mr. Roberts: What a productive lunch we had Wednesday! It certainly has helped in my job search. I contacted three people you referred me to and have meetings with two of them next week. Many thanks for your help! Jane Doe *** Dear Nancy, Thanks for the time you took from a busy life to discuss your company and its current reorganization post acquisition. Your eagerness and enthusiasm tell me Widget Company has engaged and talented people. I will definitely stay in touch! Jane Doe *** Dear Mark: Your suggestion and guidance via the Brass Street Job Club are so appreciated. I feel more confident in my ability to obtain the right fit in my next transition, thanks to your help. I am open to further suggestions and contacts, and of course look forward to staying connected! If I can help you down the line, please holler! Jane Doe *** Dear Jen: I know this may seem silly with us being such long-time BFFs, but I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your helping me find my next job. Friends like you don’t come around often. I treasure you. Jane Doe The Gist Resumes, business cards and thank-yous are some of my favorite tools in the job search. Use them wisely and generously. The thank-you more than anything. There can never be too much thanks. Say it in writing. Say it in person. Theres a great quote (author unknown). Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they dont unravel. Photo: Ben Fredericson

Fatal Foibles That Can Flummox New Freelancers

Fatal Foibles That Can Flummox New Freelancers The younger generation has a much harder time in the present day job market than their parents did, despite (on paper) having some pretty big advantages over them. Today’s twentysomethings tend to be better educated than previous generations and despite the pervasive stereotypes that depict them as slothful, indolent and self obsessed; going into paroxysms unless they have access to their social media feed, they tend to be a hardworking and reliable bunch when given an opportunity to prove themselves. It’s proving themselves, however, that’s the rub for many young graduates entering the workforce. Even graduates who got great grades struggle to find graduate level work and all over the world graduates pour out of higher education institutions and into non-graduate low pay, low skill jobs that waste their talents. Furthermore, many employers expect entry level employees to first put in months at a time as unpaid interns. For those who don’t have the luxury of parental support, this is simply untenable. But the younger generation aren’t just staring down the barrel of a difficult job market; they’re on the cusp of an economic revolution in which the gig economy is changing the way in which we trade goods and services. In the face of an inhospitable job market, yet with living costs proving more and more challenging to even well paid graduates, more and more young people are turning to self employment as a means to earn a crust. Indeed, it’s estimated that around 47% of millennials in the workforce freelance at least in some capacity. And make no mistake, earning a living as a freelancer has some distinct advantages. It’s a way to make a living doing what you love and what you’re good at. It gives you the opportunity to hone your administrative, organizational and entrepreneurial skills as you manage your business and hustle new clients. It provides excellent networking opportunities and allows you to really take your career, your livelihood and your life into your own hand s rather than slaving away in a job for which you’re overqualified and underpaid. But in lieu of a proper retirement plan, sick or holiday pay and any sort of job security, freelancers cannot afford to simply scrape by. They need to ensure that they’re firing on all cylinders and making good money so that they can save responsibly and plan for the future. That means avoiding these working and productivity foibles which could either compromise the quality of your work, limit your income or decimate your work life balance… Going in cold The good news is that there are no shortage of businesses who are desperately in need of the skills and attributes you bring to the table who don’t have the budget to take on new staff and use freelancers to achieve the best of both worlds. The bad news is that it could take some time for you to build up your reputation and establish enough of a clientele to make freelancing sustainable. While many freelancers are always hustling for new clients, it behoves you not to quit your day job (sorry) just yet and to establish yourself as a freelancer in your spare time, scaling up your operation until you’re ready to go full time. Failing to charge what you’re worth It’s possibly the most common foible among nascent freelancers, especially those who have only recently graduated. Their lack of experience gives them a disproportionately low sense of self worth. While experience can certainly sharpen and hone your skills, your talents as they are now are still an eminently marketable commodity. Many new freelancers get a lie of the land on sites like People Per Hour and try to race their competitors to the bottom in the hopes of getting more clients. The trouble with this mentality is that the best clients are motivated by quality rather than price. Moreover, if you start off with lower rates and garner a handful of clients who reward you with more business, you will place a long term cap on your earnings as you’ll be afraid to increase your prices lest you alienate them.. Relying on “handshake agreements” When you’re starting out in the freelance game, it’s all too easy to neglect the legalities that could end up protecting you, your reputation and your budding business. While handshake agreements can and do work in the freelance marketplace, it’s important to protect your interests with contracts, especially for new clients, and send invoices which can be traced and chased. You can use any of these free invoice templates if you don’t want to start from scratch. A paper trail will not only protect you legally from non-payment or disputes, it will make you better at managing the business side of freelancing. Wasting time staring at a blank screen When you’re working for yourself, productivity is everything. Productivity can make the difference between a good month’s pay and a great months’ pay. It can make the difference between landing top tier clients and staying on the breadline. One of the biggest productivity sapping things you can do, however, is waste time staring at a blank screen. Yes, everyone gets creative block. Yes, it can be enormously frustrating. But if you try and fight through it you’ll end up frustrated or produce poor quality work that you throw out as soon as you cast a fresh pair of eyes on it. When your creative mojo abandons you, don’t be afraid to take a break. Get out of your home office, go for a walk, read or do something to relax your mind and recharge your batteries and don’t come back to your computer until you’re raring to go. Trying to race yourself to the finish line AT the same time, an equally counterproductive strategy is to try and race yourself to the finish line day after day. If you have a particularly fecund Monday and get all of your work finished by 2pm yet the following day you call it a night at 6 or 7pm that’s simply the nature of the beast. Don’t fall into the trap of trying to rush to an early finish. The quality of your work will suffer and while you may find yourself making your deadlines, you will return to your computer the next day to find a whole lot of revisions waiting for you. Steer clear of these bad habits, and a long, happy, fulfilling and rewarding career as a freelancer awaits.

Career Corner Interview Tips from ReFocus on Careers - Face-to-face Interviews Conduct the Interview Part I - Hallie Crawford

Career Corner Interview Tips from ReFocus on Careers - Face-to-face Interviews Conduct the Interview Part I I recently spoke to a great networking and career search group, Re:Focus on Careers, about creating a kick ass elevator speech. Keep an eye out for all of these free interview tips in my Career Corner posts: Conduct the Interview Have your own agenda and know where the interview should be heading. This will give you confidence and help you move from one area of questioning to the next. Remember: Most interviewers are as uncomfortable as you are. They just want the position to be filled as fast as possible. If you can put the interviewer at ease by helping things move smoothly, youll improve your chances of being hired. Remember the following: 1. Enthusiasm and eye contact. Show your enthusiasm by making eye contact and keeping an interested expression. Nod and gesture in moderation; excessive body movement can distract and annoy the interviewer. If you’re interested in having me speak at your next event about finding a career you love, go here: www.halliecrawford.com/appearances.html. I’d be happy to discuss! Career Transition CoachCareer Speaker

Most Noticeable Resume Writing Live Careers Revies

Most Noticeable Resume Writing Live Careers Revies Resume Writing Live Careers Revies - the Conspiracy Actually, you can draw upon volunteer positions, education and other life experiences for lots of the skills you want to note. The assortment of services provided at the resume writing company will influence your choice. You are also able to get a feeling of the internal language used within a specific industry or company. Writing resumes for a different company might help you hone your writing skills while additionally providing a (hopefully) stable supply of income during the early days of your enterprise venture. The one thing I can gather is maybe the writer is crucial to getting a very good outcome. It's far better include published work, but inexperienced writers may incorporate work that's unpublished. If you're looking for resume writer jobs, we're always open for cooperation. Writing resumes for individuals extends to you the chance to help them land work, along w ith earning money from your writing skills. Make sure to put in a cover letter to your resume to produce your presentation even stronger and boost your odds to be invited to that interview. Whether you are in need of a strong cover letter or a more advanced resume, you may rest assured LiveCareer can help you. There's no doubt a good resume can generate enough interest to help you receive an interview. Most of all, you're going to wind up with the expertly-crafted resume you will need to land your next interview. Resume Writing Live Careers Revies Help! Resume writing is more engaging and client-facing as you will have to work one-on-one with the customer. As its name implies, your primary job is to generate professional resumes for your customers. You also have to be in a position to grasp the most effective possible information for the customer's resume. To stick out from the competition, it is critical that your resume be the finest possible representation of who you a re and what you've got to provide an employer. New Questions About Resume Writing Live Careers Revies You will likely be asked to present clips alongside your resume. You may be surprised at how many writing gems you find when you get started searching your files. More expensive packages don't consist of cover letters too. Furthermore, you might get work search assistance which of course limited to the work application tool which according to the prior customers' reviews isn't very excellent. Pay attention when you subscribe, however, because most services offer you many different plans and a few plans limit the qualities or number of resumes you are able to create. The website also hosts a network for employers searching for new talent. You may also perform a web-based job search or earn a price of living comparison through its online offerings. Top Resume Writing Live Careers Revies Choices Be sure your objective fits the kind of job you desire. Starting your own re sume writing business or another type of home business for this matter is an excellent idea if you've got the abilities and ultimately would like to be your own boss. If you need assistance crafting yours, we can assist. Still, there are numerous other aspects to take into account when writing our ResumeWritingGroup review.

Tis The Season The 12 Days Of Career Change - Work It Daily

‘Tis The Season The 12 Days Of Career Change - Work It Daily As the calendar turns toward 2016 and we’re crafting our resolution list, the question of whether it’s time to make a career change often pops up. Related: What's The First Step When You're Ready For A Career Change? If the answer for you is a resounding “Yes!” use this handy outline to waltz through the process and make 2016 your best career year yet. Don’t Confuse Resumes With Partridges In Pear Trees Okay, I know I’m mixing metaphors, but indulge me. The first step most people make in this process is to polish their resumes and start surfing the job boards. Decide on your target BEFORE you write your resume. Take the time to define where you’re going so that you can plot the path to get there rather than just jump ship from where you are. Just going away from something doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going towards a better option. Are Turtle Doves What’s Near And Dear To Your Heart? Define What Matters Most To You Get a bedrock of criteria for you to use as you move through this process. Once you begin generating opportunities for yourself, you’ll need to evaluate the offers against a criteria list that specifies the most important dimensions of your next phase. Do you want to make sure you’re there to tuck your kids in at night most evenings? Are you prioritizing tuition remission so that you can finally get that masters degree you’ve wanted for so long? Do you want a boss who champions (not undermines) you? Make a list of ten priorities and rank order them. What Are Those Squawking French Hens Saying? Specify Your Deal Breakers Do you know what happens when people get ready to leap into a new career? They gear up and invest time and money in the process, and then they freeze. Usually their fear says something along the lines of, “If I’m going to jump, it’s got to be to something perfect.” Suddenly, every little potential irritant becomes a deal breaker, and you’re killing the opportunities before you’ve even started exploratory conversations. If you create your list of what you don’t want at this early stage of the process, you’ll be able to reference it down the road when you’re ready to talk yourself out of everything. It’ll keep you in the game and ground you in clarity. Another Name For Calling Birds: Money Gremlins Many of us inadvertently self-sabotage around money, talking ourselves out of asking for a raise, backing down from negotiating the best salary, and then as we move to new positions, the benchmark of a current salary can create a real or perceived barrier to elevating ourselves both financially and status-wise. By addressing the undercurrents that may be fueling these patterns, you can position yourself for advancement and advocate for yourself in a salary negotiation. What’s The Difference Between A Golden Ring And Cheap Vending Machine Imitation? Separate Your Skills From Your Strengths There are many things you’re capable of doing, and by default and simple familiarity, that tends to be the go-to arena where you seek new jobs. But just because you CAN do something doesn’t mean you LIKE doing it. The essence of the strengths movement is that when you identify what fuels you and energizes plus where you excel, then you’re on fire, then you’re productive, then you’re contributing on a serious scale. That’s the spot to focus your job search. What Are The Geese A-Laying? Identify Your Family Scripts One of the questions that I ask my clients is, “What would horrify your parents or early caregivers if you pursued it as a career?” Often, we either rebel or conform to their expectations without realizing that we’re in reactionary mode. Whose life are you living anyway? Listen To The Swans A-Swimming: Make Time For Both Action And Reflection As you begin to generate conversations and reach out to people to make purposeful connections in your career exploration and job search, you’ll gather more data points for you to integrate into your decision-making. With a structure to shift through what you’re learning both about yourself and the market, you can make sure that you’re adapting and moving forward accordingly rather than rigidly sticking with a particular plan. Are The Maids A-Milking Bringing Forth Your Resistance I’m often struck by the vehemence with which some of my clients resist certain suggestions. Where there’s fire and energy like that, it’s worth exploring to see what’s causing the upset or outright rejection of ideas. Is it a lack of self-confidence? Is it a fear of retribution at work? Find out the source so that you know if you’re reacting to something that sabotages your progress or fuels it. Take A Cue From The Ladies Dancing Searching for a job while trying to hold down your full-time gig is draining. It’s depleting, and it can sap your energy quickly. Parse your time so that you’re in the long game. Mark time on your calendar to work on your career assessment and job search and take care that you don’t exceed it by too much. Enthusiasm is one thing, desperation another. Pace yourself. Where Are The Lords A-Leaping? Factor In Your Environment What does your ideal office look like? Are you wearing scrubs, steel-toed shoes, a lanyard with an ID badge? Do you drive to work? Walk? Bike? What time to you get there? Sometimes if you simply close your eyes and get a vivid picture of your future surroundings, you realize you know more about your dream job than you thought. Pipers Piping Beckon You To Your Tribe Consider three categories here: your boss, your colleagues, and your clients/customers. What are the qualities that you want in a supervisor? How will you know that the person hiring you has those qualities? How can you subtly probe in an interview for those desired attributes? Or, in a wild twist, perhaps you want to be your own boss. Either way, define this dimension. Think about whom you want alongside you in terms of colleagues/team members/referral partners. Whom do you want to have lunch with? Whom do you want to have your back? How do you decide whom to turn to in a crisis? Finally, where do you want to direct your energy? If your work benefited a specific group of people, who are they? What is the impact you want to have? Drum Away Your Fears Our work constitutes a hefty portion of our days. We spend significant time immersed in our jobs. When that anchor becomes uncertain, even if you’re heading for something that looks much more promising, it’s destabilizing, and fears inevitably appear. It’s a natural part of the process to back up a bit and consider whether you’re going down the right path, so recognize that most of us inevitably cycle into a questioning phase and pull back or have a crisis of confidence. These uncertainties can be useful pointers that warrant further attention, or they can be simple growing pains that deserve attention but not a place in the decision-making chair. Recognizing the difference is vital to this process. Related Posts 3 Great Activities To Keep Your Job Search Moving 10 Tips To Staying Positive While Looking For A Job Moving? 3 Helpful Tips For Your Relocation Job Search Maggie Graham | Coach Career coach Maggie Graham hones in on the intersection of where your strengths meet rewarding, sustainable, and fulfilling work. If the question, “What are you passionate about?” makes you break out in hives, she can detect the signs that point you towards the work you’re meant to do (especially if you’re an introvert!).   Disclosure: This post is sponsored by a CAREEREALISM-approved expert. You can learn more about expert posts here. Photo Credit: Shutterstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!

The Importance of Personal Branding to Career Growth

The Importance of Personal Branding to Career GrowthPersonal branding is a vital parte of a successful job search. It can have long-term effects on your career path as well as your earning potential. I cant emphasize enough to my clients the importance of positive personal branding. Before you can build your own personal brand, you must understand what it is and how to wield it to your benefit in todays career market.What is Personal Branding?Personal branding is the practice of people marketing themselves, their talents, and their careers as a brand. It is how youre known or thought of by other people. We think of it mostly from a professional or career standpoint, but it spans across your career and personal life. It is an ongoing process where you establish a professional image, leaving an impression on others about who you are, what you can do, and why they should want to work with you. Personal branding is about what people know you for professionally, how people view you, and t he value you bring to others.Getting StartedFigure out your personal brand now if you havent already. Start by visiting Reach Personal Branding online and taking a few of the branding assessments. I recommend sitting down and mapping out what you believe youre best known for and what you feel like your best brand attributes are. If you need help, Reach Personal Branding has a free brand attributes quiz to help you get started. Utilize Your ResourcesOnce youve discovered your brand attributes, find out what those closest to you believe your brand is. Your personal brand is in the minds of those who know you best and they can help you uncover what it is so you can best market it for your career benefit. Reach Personal Branding also has a great 360-degree brand-assessment tool you can send out to your network to gather insights into your own brand image. I was very surprised at what my network had to say about my brandand it helped me to recognize my strengths and better market those t o my target audience. Youll be able to see what does and does bedrngnis resonate with those around you so you can make appropriate adjustments to your own personal branding.Figure Out WhyTake some time to sit down and think about why you absolutely love doing what you do. Many people know what they do, but few know why they do it. Make a list of two or three things that drive the passions behind your work. This list will help you to define your personal brand and plan ahead for further career growth.Be Authentic in All CommunicationsMost people arent expecting perfection. Be genuine about who you are and why you love what you do. Forget the idea of a 30-second elevator pitch. To me, that seems forced and too sales-like. Instead, just be very down-to-earth when talking to others about what youre passionate about and why you love what you do. Just being yourself can go a long way.Send a Consistent MessageRegardless of the platform, keep your message consistent. Whether youre posting s ocial media updates, writing your resume, or youre sitting in an interview, carry the same message across all channels about your personal brand. Are you an eternal optimist who loves to inspire others to learn and grow? Great Share an example during interviews of how youve done that, keep your LinkedIn status updates positive and inspiring, and share opportunities with others to help them learn and grow.Be a Thought LeaderShare your expertise and thoughts with the world. Dont worry about saying what everyone else is saying or what you think everyone wants to hear. Give people your advice and your thoughts on your industry and position. What has worked for you? Write articles or blogs to share tips with your network about whats worked for you in your industry and what has not.Learn and GrowContinue investing in knowledge of your industry, new trends, what works, and what doesnt. Never stop learning and growing. I advise clients to find subject matter experts and thought leaders they admire and follow them. Read their blog posts, sign up for their webinars, enroll in their online courses. Locate organizations thriving in your industry that are staying at the forefront of trends and learn from the best. This can mean taking classes, attending conferences, or earning a new certification or credential. Knowledge and wisdom gained from those whove walked the road before you is never a bad investment.Be ProactiveManagers love proactive employees who are always one step ahead and have a solution to a problem without being asked. When a promotion opportunity arises, these are the people who are offered promotions first. As an employer, my employees who are willing to learn and grow, graciously accept feedback, and who are proactive in resolving issues as they arise without being asked are the first ones I think of when new growth opportunities come up within my company. They are also the first ones I will create new roles for because I can trust them. I know theyre lo yaland I am mora willing to invest in their ongoing training and development within the company.Assess YourselfLook back over your career in 2016 to assess your performance, growth, and goals. Are there any areas of weakness or opportunities for improvement? Pursue training in those exact areas. Invest in yourself and your long-term career growth by keeping a teachable mindset and being a lifelong learner. Employers will take note of your enthusiasm and effort to learn, grow, and improve.The Do-Nots of Personal BrandingThere are a few things you should avoid when building your personal brand. Keep the following in mind*Dont stagnate. Keep learning, growing, and getting better at what you do.*Keep it positive. Negativity will hurt you more than a lack of experience.*Culture fit is king. People report higher levels of career satisfaction when there is a culture fit.*People want to hire employees with a great attitude and terrific character. Prove you have those two qualities plus the experience and you have a golden ticket to success.Help Is AvailableIf you need expert help, there are many certified personal branding experts who can help you discover, define, communicate, and market your personal brand for your career growth. For example, I completed the Certified Social Branding Analyst program through Reach Personal Branding where I was able to use all of the tools I recommended above to help me define my own brand attributes and tap into my network to gather insight.The Changing Landscape of Social MediaWhen it comes to personal branding, the biggest changes are in the world of social media. Today, people feel like they must have a presence on every social media platform and should invest hours updating, reading, and networking. This can become all-consuming and overwhelming. It simply doesnt have to be this way.First, put your social media on auto-pilot using a platform such as SocialOomph or Hootsuite. Who says you have to be on LinkedIn all day? Invest 10 minutes a day catching up or touching base, then take a break. Dont feel like you have to be everywhere all the time. You dont. Choose one or two social media sites that support your brand, career goals, and industry and invest your time there.When youre online, focus on building your subject matter expertise. Write about what you know and share that insight with the world through your professional blog, LinkedIn, or other medium.I tell my clients that when it comes to job searching, personal branding, and networking, LinkedIn still rules the roost. It is the first place recruiters source top talent, which, coincidentally, is not where talent goes to find work. Surveys overwhelmingly reveal job seekers use Facebook to find opportunities. If you are passively open to new opportunities, turn on the Open Candidate feature of your LinkedIn account, which will confidentially signal recruiterswithout notifying your current companythat you are looking for a new position. Glassdoor is anoth er popular site for job seekers you can learn about companies that are hiring, as well as their culture.The Final ThreeOverall, I believe there are three things that can help you to advance your personal brand and careerwhether youre staying where you are in 2017 or youre ready for a career change. Become an expert at what you do, be kind to everyone (it matters more than you think in your career growth), and be others-centered. We often get so wrapped up in advancing our careers that we forget one of the best ways to advance is to focus on helping others, too.

Getting Paid More What Job Skills Do You Need

Getting Paid More What Job Skills Do You Need Whether youre actively looking for a new job, or simply interested in browsing whats on offer, its important to keep your finger on the pulse of the job skills and career experiences that the job market demands. This way, no matter what job youre doing, you can be aware of the areas where your resume or skills-set could use an extra boost. Improving your skills in behauptung areas could be the key to a future promotion, or simply mora pay in your next role.Unsurprisingly, the areas to invest in improving your skills depend on your role and industry. Recently, Payscale released a helpful report showing the top 3 skills for approximately 17 different job types that correlate with a higher-than-average salary for those job roles.For example, Payscale found that if you work in management, IT risk, mergers and acquisitions and SAP Business Intelligence are areas where employees seem to command a premium salary. Conversely, in the arts and medi a industries, Autodesk, UX and UI design were some of the most highly compensated skill sets.If youre just starting out in the job-market, Payscale also found that certain skills were highly valued by hiring managers, but not prevalent among recent graduates. If youre recently out of school or planning your entry into the workforce for the first time, it might be good to keep these hard-skills in mindWritingPublic speakingData analysis (Excel, Tableau, Python, R, etc)Industry-specific software (Salesforce, CAD, Quickbooks, etc)MathematicsDemonstrating your proficiency in these areas might give you an edge in your job search or job application process. However, you may have to think creatively about how to demonstrate these skills because many of these eintrags will never appear on your resume (or will not mean much as a line item without further proof). For example, if youre a strong writer, consider publishing a few posts on your personal blog, website, or on your LinkedIn page and linking to the post on your resume. That way, your writing skills will have a chance to shine.But how do you improve your market value and skills if youve identified a gap or area for improvement? You can take a class or do some reading, for starters. Many employers offer online training courses for employees and there are endless online class options these days. However, time to take webinars may not be realistic, or that simply may not be your preferred style of learning.There are also more hands-on, practical approaches to learning. You can volunteer to work on a project that might lead to more experience in area of interest, or tell your manager about your desire to acquire a specific, new skill. Showing initiative and interest in self-improvement is a sign of an engaged and valuable employee, and even if no new project or assignment is immediately available, your manager will have filed away a mental note about your initiative-taking for future opportunities.Regardless of what you do, thinking about how to demonstrate your existing skills and acquire new, valuable ones is an important part of making sure youre maximizing your salary and advancing your career.Fairygodboss is committed to improving the workplace and lives of women.