Is your Social Media content preventing you from securing a job interview?

How can what you post on social media affect getting a job?  Well, to be blunt, absolutely it can!  What if I told you that most hiring managers actually look you up on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn before they even pick up the phone to call you for the initial interview.  Depending on the job you are applying for, depends on how much in-depth research they will do of all your social media accounts.  Welcome to the new reality!

"According to a CareerBuilder study, they found that 58 percent of employers conduct social screenings to look for information supporting a candidate's qualifications for the job, 50 percent want to ensure the candidate has a professional online persona, and 34 percent want to see what other people are posting about the candidate". 

See, just like the company has a Mission statement, Vision and Core Values, they want to ensure they are hiring people that align with the company's goals.

Let's take a step back.  Do me a favor, log into your FB, IG and LinkedIn profiles, what does your profile picture look like?   If you were an employer hiring for a company, would you want to interview yourself based off of the information posted?  Do you perceive it as negative, positive or neutral?  Nobody's asking you to stop being YOU, just stop and think about what you post before you post it.  Is it necessary, is it hurtful, how would you feel about it if your child posted it? I try to look at everything through the lens of my boss or my Mother; would this make my Mom proud?  Would my boss appreciate what I am posting from a business perspective? Am I adding value to myself as an employee, Mother, friend, spouse.

Let me ask you something.  If you are taking the time to "tweak" your resume, why wouldn't you "tweak" your social media accounts?  In other words, if you are taking the time to make yourself look professional on paper, wouldn't you do the same on other platforms?

"It could cost you your current job or future job opportunities. According to a 2018 CareerBuilder survey, 70% of employers use social media to screen candidates during the hiring process, and about 43% of employers use social media to check on current employees".

Here are a few tips on what NOT to post on social media.

• Foul language in posts
• Nude or revealing pictures of yourself as your profile picture
• Illicit drug use of any kind including alcohol
• Rule of thumb, refrain from talking about Sex, Religion and Politics

Some things you may want to change on your social media profiles while you are actively applying for jobs.

• Have a semi-professional picture taken for your profile picture
• Include positive posts about your career and education
• Posts on your favorite hobby or activity and how that may fulfill you
• Volunteer work that you do in your free time

Most importantly, the #1 platform that employers look at immediately when someone applies is LinkedIn.  I highly encourage you to update your profile including a professional photo and stay current with your skills.  You can ask for recommendations and endorsements of your skills which employers pay close attention to.  In addition, connect with like-minded professionals and follow healthcare organizations and companies that you find interesting.  LinkedIn is your online resume, use it to your advantage!

Want to learn NEW skills in order to work from home as a Nurse, click here!

7 Remote skills you need on your resume and why!

Well, we established you are stressed or burnt out, we had you talk to your husband or significant other and got them on board with your desire to work from home and you have signed up for Marie’s CCM course.  You are now taking steps to move yourself forward to a better quality of life. Congratulations! The most crucial part of this entire process is preparing your resume in order to show you have skills to work remotely in order to get your resume SEEN by recruiters.

First, I highly recommend Marie’s CCM course, it is no secret that I am a huge fan. Her course offers you the remote skills that employers will be looking for on your resume.  In addition, Marie has a course for Healthcare professionals that you can also take to prepare your own resume.  Here is a direct link to the Resume Readiness for Healthcare Pros course.  It is only $165!! Last year I paid someone I met through LinkedIn to re-do my resume and it cost me $250.  Do you realize she only made minor changes to my resume.  In the words of my husband, “you got ripped off”, and you know what, he’s right!

So I guess the first thing you need to decide is, do you learn the skills to re-do your own resume and cover letter AND learn interview prep from Marie’s course or pay someone to do it for you who doesn’t know your experience or the new skills you learned from the CCM course.  Either way, you need a revised resume in order to apply for remote jobs to have a chance at getting your resume looked at by a recruiter.  They are looking for a different set of skills then floor nursing.

Here is a list of remote skills that recruiters will be looking for:

1. Self-motivated – Not only motivated but take initiative with tasks and be proactive in problem solving. While working alone can be a great way to be productive, it can also be a difficult environment for professionals who need constant feedback to keep them motivated and moving in the right direction.
2. Ability to work independently - you will be working alone. For some people, this comes completely natural; but for others, the thought of being alone for long periods of time is stressful. Recruiters will inquire about the person’s ability to not only work alone, but also focus in the midst of home-based distractions. Since teams won’t be working in direct contact with each other to keep individuals on track, being able to focus and work without human interaction is key.
3. Tech savvy – you will most likely be navigating through several software programs at the same time and you will need to do some troubleshooting of your own on technical problems that may arise.
4. Strong work ethic – this goes without saying, you need to be on-time, working the hours of the job with dedicated lunch breaks.
5.  Effective communication skills as you will be talking to patients over the phone
6. Time Management – this is the key to working efficiently and being productive.
7. Organized – you need some way to be able to organize the tasks that need to be completed throughout the day.

Recruiters use a system called ATS (Automatic Tracking System) which will pool keywords out of a resume to identify potential candidates.  This is why having remote skills and a proper resume are so vital in securing a work from home job.  I hope this list help you on your journey to finding work / life balance.

Medicare Chronic Care Management Course

7 Tips for talking with your significant other about making the switch to working from home

In my last blog post we talked about coming to the decision to make a change from floor nursing to working at home.  Now that you made the decision and signed up for Marie’s course, it is time to have a conversation with your significant other in order to prepare for the transition before you start interviewing.  There is a lot of thought that needs to go into having this discussion so you will need to get prepared on your approach in case you may be taking a pay cut.  Check out my tips below.

1.      Have your mental and physical symptoms list handy for your talk.  It is important to share with your significant other how your current job is affecting your mental and physical health.  Make sure you are calmly discussing how you feel before and after working.  (If you did not read my first blog post, please refer to it now)

2.      Know how your symptoms affect the family.  If you are not taking care of yourself, you are not taking care of your family.  Trust me, you may think you are, but not in the way you would if you did not have the stress in your life from your job.  Anger, frustration, exhaustion follow you home.  You may be too tired to make dinner or lack the desire to go back out with your family after getting home from work to enjoy a night out.  Perhaps you are drinking more or not taking care of yourself like you used to.  Stress can show its ugly face in many ways so think hard about how your family is being affected.

3.      Choose the right time to talk and what is most important for you to get across to your significant other.  If you have children, be sure to have this discussion when they are in bed or outside playing in order to have complete focus to your conversation. WHY do you want to leave your current job so bad in order to work from home?

4.      Do your homework on ways you will save money by working from a home office.  Figure out how much you spend on uniforms, shoes and supplies per year.  How about wear and tear on your vehicle, gas, childcare (keep in mind if you have small children, you will still need someone to watch them while you work from home) I have compiled some average savings from the Flex jobs website that might help.  If you want to read the in-depth version of the breakdown, check it out here.

a.      Gas - $686

b.      Car Maintenance - $767

c.       Dry cleaning and laundering - $500

d.      Lunches and coffee - $1,040

e.      Professional wardrobe - $925

f.        Tax breaks - $750

g.      Time - $4,867 THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT = Have you ever tried to place a value on the amount of time not spent commuting? Think of all the time you spend behind the wheel to and from work.  That time is valuable and all lost. Given that the average commute time is 52 minutes (see above), that’s nearly another hour every day devoted to a work-related activity, namely, commuting. However, by working from home, the average former commuter will be spending 225 fewer hours on a work-related activity, or about 28 fewer eight-hour days every year. How does that translate when it comes to your salary? Say you earn $50,000 a year and you’re commuting to an office. That would mean you’re making about $21.70 per hour (because you’re working an eight-hour day plus your 52-minute commute, or just under nine hours daily).

h.      Childcare – I did not add this in and keep in mind, small children still need childcare while you are working from home, however, perhaps children that are in elementary school will no longer need before and after school care.  This would be another cost savings.

i.        Total savings per year – approximately $4,000 +++++remember, you can’t put a price tag on TIME.

5.      Be prepared for possible objections. You know your significant other better than anyone.  If you may be taking a pay cut from your floor nursing job to work from home. Be sure to share what is most important to you.  What have you lost from working a stressful job, what will you gain by working from home, how will you feel better, how will the family benefit?

6.      Share your willingness to save money in other ways.  How can you save money to offset the lower pay IF it ends up being less based on cost savings above.  Use digital coupons when shopping, spend a little less at Amazon, do your kids really need every new toy?  Can you increase your temperature in the house during the summer instead of using the AC as much?  Change the light bulbs to LED, all of this saves on electric. Maybe cut down the amount of times you go out to eat per month. Little things all add up at the end of the month.

7.      Share your vision.  This is probably the most important.  Share and paint a picture for your significant other of how you think your mental and physical health would be better as well as the family based on leaving a job you are stressed and burnt out to work from home.

I hope these tips help you and I can’t wait to see where Marie’s course takes you on your journey to work from home.

If you have not signed up for Marie Pepper's Medicare Chronic Care Management Course to learn the skills to work from home as a Nurse, please learn more here Medicare Chronic Care Management Course