Friday, May 29, 2020

Early bird or night owl New free psychology app analyses brain performance

Early bird or night owl New free psychology app analyses brain performance by Tom Bunkham A new free psychology app can analyse your brain performance to help you plan your workload or prepare for important events such as interviews or exams.The Brainwave app was developed by recruitment leaders, REED, and the Open University (OU) and forms part of a wide-ranging OU research project focused on cognitive performance. Its now available for download for free to mobile and tablet devices.Download Brainwave on the App Store   »Download Brainwave on Google Play   »By playing five games, developed from the latest psychology research, users will build a picture of how their cognitive functions perform throughout the day.The outcome will ultimately answer the age-old question of whether users are “early birds” or “night owls”. Users will be encouraged to play the games at various times of the day to see how performance varies. Personal scores, presented as a graph or ‘Brainwave’, will show users when exactly it is that they perform at their best. All game scores will remain anonymous and will be sent to researchers at the OU who will analyse the data to see how everyday rhythms, and the time of day, affect how the games are played by individuals and how this affects brain performance. The app will also assess how mood impacts on performance.In addition, by providing information on sleep habits, this will help the team to analyse the brain’s functions at different times of the day, linking to Circadian rhythms.The scienceThe project is being led Dr Darren Langdridge, Dr Martin Thirkettle and Professor Graham Pike. It will have access to a wealth of anonymous data to assess variations across all sections of society, as well as the impact of mood on brainpower and performance.Dr Thirkettle, said: “This is set to be fascinating for both us and the user. For example, knowing that you’re at your sharpest during mid-morning might change the way you plan your work for the day or schedule job interviews. Capturing Big Data is v ital to enable our research to be far more representative; in terms of having information that covers as wide a range of participants as possible. As well as that, for the game player it’s a lot of fun and definitely one to share!”Professor Tim Blackman, Acting Vice-Chancellor of The Open University, said: “Apps are a fantastic way of tracking your daily habits and making improvements in life. The Brainwave App can help users determine when they perform best and will also enable our researchers to pool that anonymous data for research purposes.”The brainwave behind BrainwaveThe Brainwave App began as an original idea by Sir Alec Reed in conversation with Martin Bean, outgoing Vice-Chancellor, The Open University.Sir Alec Reed, who has a long history of funding education projects, said: “The aim of the app is to help capture a user’s cognitive ‘temperature’ at different times of the day. This will then help them to make informed decisions on how to plan their workload or prepare for important events such as interviews or exams.Download Brainwave on the App Store   »Download Brainwave on Google Play   »Notes to editorsAbout Cognitive PsychologyCognitive psychology is the exploration of the brain and mental processes; it’s the science of how we think. Cognitive psychologists study everything from perceiving the world around us to remembering recent events and they use experimental tasks that isolate these processes or break them apart in order to study how they work.To find out more about Psychology courses at the OU:http://www.open.ac.uk/courses/find/psychologyThe Open UniversityThe Open University (OU) is the largest academic institution in the UK and a world leader in flexible distance learning. Since it began in 1969, the OU has taught more than 1.8 million students and has around 200,000 current students, including more than 15,000 overseas.The OU is rated in the top ten of UK universities for student satisfaction in the National Student Su rvey, since the survey began in 2005. In 2013/14 it had a 91% satisfaction rating.   Over 70% of students are in full-time or part-time employment, and four out of five FTSE 100 companies have sponsored staff to take OU courses.In the UK’s latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008) The Open University was ranked in the top third of UK higher education institutions. More than 50% of OU research was assessed in the RAE as internationally excellent, with 14% as world leading.The OU has a 41 year partnership with the BBC and has moved from late-night lectures in the 1970s to co-producing prime-time series such as Frozen Planet, Bang Goes the Theory, Britain’s Great War, I Bought a Rainforest and Business Boomers. Regarded as Britain’s major e-learning institution, the OU is a world leader in developing technology to increase access to education on a global scale. Its vast ‘open content portfolio’ includes free study units on OpenLearn, which received 5.2million unique visi tors in 2012/13, and materials on iTunes U, which has recorded more than 66 million downloads.About ReedAs well as being the number one recruitment brand in the UK, Reed has also invested millions into different charitable projects over the years. This joint venture is part of Sir Alec’s continual dedication to innovation, and joins two successful establishments who are both focused on education and personal improvement.Find a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the terms and conditions applicable to our service and acknowledge that your personal data will be used in accordance with our privacy policy and you will receive emails and communications about jobs and career related topics. Features

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Can You Describe Your Supervisors Personality - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Can You Describe Your Supervisor’s Personality - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career I know from personal experience that when I reported to a boss I was aligned with ideologically and who trusted me, I performed very well and kept getting promoted and promoted. But there were other bosses with whom those alignments just were not there, and after a while we separatedâ€"at times voluntarily and at other times involuntarily. I’m certain my situation was not unique and that many readers have had similar situations. Why is that? Why is it possible that the same person can be considered a superstar by one supervisor and incompetent by another? After all, people don’t typically change so drastically overnight. Are personal biases a part of work relationships? It is known that hiring managers hire people like themselves. Logically, it’s easy to explain. In marriages, they say opposites attract; but that’s not so in work relationships and it would probably take a psychologist to explain the phenomenon. I know that managers each have an agenda. In fact, they have two. One is the business agenda, which good managers share freely within the department and perhaps outside that manager’s area of responsibility; but then, the manager also has a personal agenda. That one is kept secret because it includes personal biases and prejudices and subjects governed by law. Such a secret agenda is taboo and kept deep inside managers’ minds. If revealed, it could cost them their jobs, and managers know it. But at times, evidence of those biases and prejudices surfaces, often bringing along victims. Job candidates should try finding out during the interview what the future boss is really like. Many people go to the interview with a mind-set similar to that of a victim taken in for interrogation. The outcome of the interview is very important to the candidateâ€"to the point that he behaves submissively and meekly. But this should not be. If hired and the relationship with the boss turns out not to be conducive to a good future work relationship, the outcome will be separation. In such a case, the boss is typically the one who stays on. Therefore, the best move the candidate can make during the interview is to try to uncover the interviewer’s personality. That’s not an easy task, because the hiring manager is in control. But with a few probing questions, perhaps at least a few hints could be revealed. Here are some example questions: Can you tell me about your management style and philosophy? How long have you been in this position? What did you do before that? Have the members of your staff been in their present positions for a long time? What is your communication style? How often do you hold staff meetings? Perhaps during the interview the hiring manager will reveal even more about his style. Many hiring managers are good actors, and what one sees in the interview may be the opposite of what happens in reality once the candidate is actually on the job (have you heard of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?), but my point here is that the more the candidate can find out during the interview, the better able that candidate will be to make final decisions about accepting the job if offered. My own experience has been mixed. How about yours?

Friday, May 22, 2020

10 Best Medical and Pharmaceutical Sales Resume Services (List)

10 Best Medical and Pharmaceutical Sales Resume Services (List) The world of professional sales can be tough in any industry, but particularly in industries with high stakes. This is exactly the case in the medical field, where salespeople not only have aggressive sales goals but also have to position their prescriptions and medical devices in the best way possible. After all, you won’t make (and sustain) sales otherwise.As if the job itself wasn’t stressful enough, there are plenty of people vying for medical and pharmaceutical sales positions. This makes for tight competition and a stressful job search, especially when hiring managers spend just seconds looking at your resume before deciding whether to consider you or toss your resume in the trash.That’s why it’s important to have a professionally written resume. You can think you’ve written the best resume in the world, but resume writers have the education, expertise, and reputations that provide eager job seekers with the leg up they need to get hired.We’ve compiled a list of the top 10 best medical and pharmaceutical sales resume writers. All you have to do is pick the one that best meets your needs.Best Resume Services for Medical SalesIf you are in a hurry and don't want to read our detailed reviews below, here is a list of the Best Medical/Pharma Resume Writers:Find My Profession (that's us!) Confident Career Moves Shimmering Careers Virginia Franco Resumes Pharmaceutical Sales Career BBCS Counseling Services Resume Assassin Resumes Plus Career Perfect Advantage Resumes of St. LouisAnd now for the detailed reviews...1. Find My ProfessionFind My Profession is not just a top-notch Pharma resume writing service. We are a global company headquartered in the US on a mission to master effective, ATS compatible resumes that convert into offers.A major perk of Find My Profession is that we are not a one-person shop.Collectively, our team of elite resume writers has experience in 85+ unique industries/professions. This allows us to assign you a professional writ er (in the United States) based on your unique background and experience.We are also not a resume factory. We will never use “ghostwriters”. You will have your resume writer’s name, email, and phone number for direct communication.With 100+ 5-star reviews and a 60-day interview guarantee thatspeaks for itself, you can sleep easy knowing that your satisfaction is our #1 priority.Pros:Find My Profession commits to working with each client until they are completely satisfied. Don’t worry about having a limited number of edits, or a set amount of time with your writer.Cons: Find My Profession does not exclusively write medical sales resumes. Also, with a focus on more senior positions, our entry-level resume service may be a bit pricey for recent graduates.Turnaround: 3-5 business days. Can expedite to 2 business days.Cost: $395-$895Phone: (831) 888-0967Don't take our word for it, check out some of our 5-star reviews.Trustpilot2. Confident Career MovesConfident Career Moves is a resume writing service that is focused specifically on nursing and pharmacy. The owner and writer, Denise R. Hemphill, has a Doctorate of Pharmacy. This enables her to understand the medical world better than most resume writers. Confident Career Moves also offers career coaching in order to take an all-hands-on-deck approach and help you land your next big role in the pharma sales industry. Confident Career Moves has expertise in the medical and pharmaceutical world that few other resume services can match.Pros: Confident Career Moves is a pharmaceutical sales resume service with plenty of experience in the medical sales resume service industry as well. Denise has five different resume writing and career coaching certifications, all of which enable her to take your career to the next level.Cons: Confident Career Moves has a long turnaround time for a medical resume writing service. This could be an issue if your dream job was recently posted and you need to apply as soon as possib le. They also do not have prices on their website, so you have to wait to hear back from them for a quote.Turnaround: 7-10 business daysCost: Not stated.Phone: (832) 680-10193. Shimmering CareersShimmering Careers was founded by Paul Freiberger. Paul spent the majority of his career as a journalist, where he interviewed some of the top business minds of his time. He now uses the knowledge he gained from those experiences to craft top medical and pharmaceutical resumes for job-seekers.Pros: Shimmering Careers has shimmering online reviews all over the internet. Paul Freiberger is the only writer at Shimmering Careers, meaning you will receive the same service and treatment as any other customer. This makes it easier for Shimmering Careers to maintain quality control.Shimmering Careers started in 2005 and Paul Freiberger has maintained a great reputation as a world-class medical resume writer for over a decade.Cons: Shimmering Careers is one of the more expensive medical sales resume services that you can work with. It’s also worth noting that there are no a la carte services available for Shimmering Careers. This means you will have to pay for services that you do not necessarily want or need.Turnaround: Two weeks, however they state that they can be flexible with your deadline.Cost: $699 - $1999Phone number: (650) 464-00854. Virginia Franco ResumesVirginia Franco Resumes has a different set of skills than most resume writers. Virginia Franco has over 15 years of experience in corporate communications and journalism, thus providing her with unique insight as to how to create a document that explains your exact skill set and experience. She is a great medical sales resume writer.Pros: Virginia Franco has three different resume writing certifications, so rest assured that she can create a great pharmaceutical sales resume. Virginia does not use any templates; everything is written from scratch and unique to you.Cons: Virginia Franco Resumes is another one of th e more expensive resume services that you will find. Their prices could easily knock them out of the running if you’re on a budget. Additionally, Virginia Franco Resume only has a few reviews online. This could indicate that their services are not very popular.Turnaround: 5 business daysCost: $925 - $1075Phone number: (704) 771-85725. Pharmaceutical Sales CareerPharmaceutical Sales Careeris comprised of a team of pharmaceutical sales industry experts with more than 20 years of combined experience interviewing, hiring, recruiting, resume writing, pharma selling, and interview coaching. They have been in the industry for over 14 years and claim to have helped thousands of candidates land interviews and get hired with top pharmaceutical companies around the world.Pros:For just a slight upcharge, you can receive two ebooks written by this company in addition to a 20-minute live interview consultation. Writing a book definitely takes some industry expertise so you can rest assured know ing you will be working with some knowledgable professionals in the pharma space.Cons:There does not appear to be any third-party reviews on this site. Additionally, in order to submit an order, you will need to contact this company via email first.Turnaround:5 business days.Cost: $335 - $460Phone number: (412) 447-17426. BBCS Counseling ServicesBBCS Counseling Services is an all-inclusive career counseling service based in New Jersey, with three different offices. Beverly Baskin and Mitch Baskin are the two main resume writers at the firm, and they’ve received quite a bit of press in large publications across the country. In addition to resume writing, they also offer career counseling, interview preparation, and outplacement services.Pros: BBCS Counseling Services specifically writes resumes for pharmaceutical sales jobs. Their resume writers are all nationally certified, so you are guaranteed to have an effective resume that will help you secure your next job. Mitch has a great technical and business background, which is perfect for a medical sales resume.Cons: BBCS Counseling focuses on career counseling and not resume writing. That is great if you are looking for a service that provides both. If not, this service might not be for you.Turnaround: Not stated.Cost: $495 - $695Phone number: (800) 300-40797. Resume AssassinResume Assassin was founded (and still led by) Mary Southern. With more than 10 years of experience, as well as a Masters in Education. Mary Southern understands how to put together a great pharmaceutical sales resume that will get you noticed by some of the biggest companies out there.Pros: Resume Assassin is an affordable medical sales resume service. To top things off, Resume Assassin has a good number of 5-star reviews across the Internet, all of which back up their customer service. They also have a reasonable turnaround time compared to most resume writing services.Cons: Mary Southern is the only sales resume writer at Resume Assassi n. This is great from a customer service perspective, but if she is too busy or she is on vacation then she might not be able to take your resume on. Additionally, Resume Assassin does not offer a rush service, so there is no way to get a resume faster than at least 3 business days.Turnaround: 3-5 business daysCost: $349Phone number: (641) 351-94928. Resumes PlusResumes Plus is a Massachusetts-based resume writing service founded by Bea Hait. Bea has almost 30 years of experience writing resumes for employees in virtually every single industry. She understands the ins and outs of resume writing, meaning your resume will be in great shape if you decide to go with Resumes Plus. This is further supported by the 5-star reputation they maintain on review sites.Pros: Resumes Plus has several different resume writing certifications, thus adding legitimacy to their skill sets. This resume writing service has been featured in a number of different publications as part of features that showca se the best resume examples across industries.Cons: Resumes Plus is a division of Word Processing Plus, which is another business that Bea Hait owns. This shows that resume writing is not her main focus. This should be considered when choosing a resume service. They also only offer one set of revisions, so your pharmaceutical sales resume won’t be able to go through multiple rounds of editing.Turnaround: 4-5 business daysCost: $340+Phone number: (508) 429-18139. Career PerfectCareer Perfect has been in the business of writing resumes since 1978. Impressive, right? They launched their online services all the way back in 1996 when many businesses weren’t even taking advantage of the Internet. Career Perfect offers a bunch of other services besides resume writing, such as interview coaching, career planning, and job search advice.Pros: Career Perfect has numerous 5-star reviews on Facebook. They have plenty of experience to create an amazing medical sales resume for you. Career Per fect has partnered with multiple colleges, as well as businesses like Monster.com, in order to provide clients with a satisfactory experience.Cons: Career Perfect certainly has a lot of customers, but you will not get the same personal touch as you would with other medical sales resume writers. They also offer several different services besides resume writing. This is always something to consider when choosing a medical sales resume service.Turnaround: 4-5 business daysCost: $200 - $300Phone number: (877) 844-572410. Advantage Resumes of St. LouisAdvantage Resumes of St. Louisis based in â€"â€"yes, you guessed it â€"â€"St. Louis. The owner/writerwasthe Certification Chair for The National Resume Writers’ Association for 12 years, which is quite an incredible honor. Advantage Resumes of St. Louis also offers cover letter writing, Linkedin profile writing, and a “Leave Behind,” AKA a document you leave with a potential employer after an interview.Pros:Advantage Resumes of St. Lo uis has over 20 years of resume writing experience. They have been featured in multiple publications that showcase their reputable resume writing abilities. They are also happy to give you a recommendation if you feel like they are not a fit for your resume.Cons:Advantage Resumes of St. Louis has an extremely long turnaround time. They also save your resume as a 97-2003 Word Doc, which is an extremely outdated version of Microsoft Word. This could posean issue as the formatting could change on an employer’s computer.Turnaround:10-15 business daysCost:$420 - $780Phone number:(314) 993-5400Medical/Pharmaceutical Sales Resume SampleCurious to know what it takes to knock a medical/pharma sales resume out of the park? Take a look at this example (first page only) from a resume writing service on our list. As you can see, medical sales resumes need a combination of a sharp appearance that grabs your attention and focused language that is easy for hiring authorities to digest at a glance .This eye-catching pharmaceutical sales rep sample comes from Find My Profession (rated #1 above):Before you choose a professional resume writer, be sure to have a thorough look at all the samples available so you can get an idea of the marketing value your prospective resume writer has to offer you. Your resume and your other positioning documents are your keys to getting the job you want at the salary you deserve.Best General Resume Writing ServicesIfyou are looking for a local resume writeror you just want to work with a trusted online resume service, these lists should help you find what you are looking for.If you an executive who is notworried about finding a company focused on medical sales, check out the Best Executive Resume Services.

Monday, May 18, 2020

Interview with Nick Newman, Brains Behind The National Careers Week Campaign #NCW14

Interview with Nick Newman, Brains Behind The National Careers Week Campaign #NCW14 What does one do on a Sunday? Sit back and relax. But not Nick Newman, CEO of CareersINFO  and the brains behind National Careers Week. I caught up with Nick on Sunday over email to find out more about the work that goes on in preparation for National Careers Week and his vision for the future of the campaign. Visit the National Careers Week website. NCW is the brainchild of Nick Newman Faizan  Nick, National Careers Week; we know about the good intentions of the campaign, but what does it mean in numbers? How many participants are there and how many young people are reached via this campaign? Nick Newman NCW2013 reached over 1 million people in the UK with over 1,600 schools and colleges registering this  year looks even bigger! Faizan  1 million+ people in the UK? Wow! So how much work goes into co-ordinating a nationwide campaign like this? When do preparations for you and your team start? Nick Newman We started planning for NCW2014 in September 2013! Its a long run in with so much to co-ordinate in terms of Ambassadors, Comms, Resources and Sponsors our Head of Digital Comms and Marketing, Samuel Douglas, has been working into the early hours for the last few weeks. Its a massive effort by the team here. Faizan  What have you planned for the week; does it involve a lot of travel or is it meeting a lot of young people locally? Nick Newman Personally I shall be supporting local schools this week with Careers Assemblies close to home last year we were in Hull filming with so much on this year I wanted to be around the studio as much as possible. Faizan Do you think NCW is becoming a sustainable campaign? I have seen a previous campaign helping young people that fizzled out because the brains behind the event handed it over to his colleagues in his organisation, but they could never replicate his enthusiasm and network as you are the brains behind NCW, how do you envisage this campaign being sustainable in future? Nick Newman  Its getting bigger each year sustainability comes from a need and a commercial model of supporting sponsorship. Im confident that we are going to keep improving year on year, getting it better, making a real difference . At the point we lose impact or fail to be a positive force for good in careers, we shall stop. Ive never wanted to do anything other than make a positive difference in everything that I do when I cannot make that difference, I will turn to the team and say Game Over. Faizan  Thank you so much for that, Nick. Taking time on a Sunday, a day before a week-long hectic campaign is appreciated. We will support the campaign as we have done for the past two years. Good luck to the whole team, schools, ambassadors and everybody else involved in this campaign. You can also read my interview with Janet Colledge, NCW14 Ambassador. 9

Friday, May 15, 2020

Complaining about work is actually making you feel worse - Debut

Complaining about work is actually making you feel worse - Debut As an entitled millennial snowflake, complaining about work is one of my favourite things to do. Theres nothing like ringing my best friend to see whose minor grievance is more annoying. And oh yeah, even when theres nothing wrong, we will find something to be mad about. Complaining about work to your friends can be a cathartic, freeing experience. Maybe  your boss chastised you over something minor. Maybe he or she has overloaded you with menial tasks. Its good to get all that off your chest, right? Well, not quite. Complaining about work leads you to dwell on the negatives Thats what this  study published in the European Journal of Work and Organisational Psychology says.  The scientists behind it conducted an experiment, recruiting a group of people of various employment and asking them to keep a diary. They were asked to record two entries a day. One noting their mood in the morning and how well theyd slept and later on, another recounting something negative that happened at work. In that entry, they were also asked to include how they felt at that moment, how engaged they currently felt in their job, and to what extent they focused on the negative things rather than the positive. The findings showed that those who put emphasis on those negative things reported lower momentary mood and less satisfaction and pride with the work they’d been doing that same day. They also also admitted to feeling worse when they woke up the next day. But when participants hadnt complained, escalated minor issues or stewed things over too much, bad events, even if rated as severe, didn’t impact mood or work engagement, that day or the next. The fix   So what does that all mean then? Well, what you definitely shouldnt do is store up all your work-related angst and let it quietly fester as a mental illness. If you have a problem, dont bottle it up. But dwelling on it rather than looking for productive solutions allows your negative feelings to linger. Whatever the problem in your office is, there are plenty of actionable ways to solve it. Try taking time out to build resilience to the situation or place more emphasis on self-care during the day. If the issue is between you and your colleagues, maybe try collaborating less and communicating more. Remember, good company culture  is as much about the individuals as it is about the team. In most offices, theres plenty of support, but if you can, try and be solution-orientated and optimistic when facing your problems. Connect with Debut on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for more careers insights.