Wednesday, November 27, 2019
10 Things to Remember for Your Project Implementation
10 Things to Remember for Your Project Implementation10 Things to Remember for Your Project ImplementationYouve spent all that time working with your team and delivering a fantastic product. Now its time to put that live and have the users take ownership of the end result. Are you ready? You will be after youve read this. 1. Project Implementation Starts With a Plan Whatever you are implementing, you need a plan to transition the project from project to geschftsleben as usual. Hopefully, this is already documented, or at least sketched out. Its the part of the project that falls between Project Delivery and Project Cloaya on theproject life cycle. If you dont have a detailed plan, now is the time to work out exactly how this part of the project is going to go down. The rest of this article will help you. 2. Involve the Operations Team If you havent got the business as usual or operational teams involved fully, start that engagement now. They are going to own the output going forward. If you built an arbeitszimmer, they are going to work in it. If you designed a smartphone app, they are going to sell it and deal with customer complaints. They need to be ready to receive whatever it is that your project is giving them. Bonus Tip Build trust with the right people early on in the project and it will pay back at this point. 3. Prepare Your Training Materials It would be great if your project was delivering something so intuitive that no one would need training in how to use it, but thats rarely the case with the complex projects we work on today. If its a small enhancement to an existing system you could get away with a brief email to users and a screenshot of what is going to look different when they log in tomorrow. Anything more than that and youre going to need to put together some serious training material to help them get to grips with it. Bonus Tip Make sure you have people lined up to deliver the training. If you are going down the route of live training (or even online self-paced training- you still need someone to record the materials) you should check their availability. Ideally, you shouldnt be delivering training yourself as the project manager. 4. Schedule Enough Time for Training Training, thats an afternoon, right? We can fit health and safety training in for the new staff in a lunch break, OK? No Talk to some people in your HR teams and find out how long it really takes to deliver quality training. Add to that the fact that you might have to run face-to-face courses multiple times to allow for people being on different shifts or off work or involved in something so critical that they cant attend training on that day, and you can see how quickly training time expands. You need however long you need. Skimp on training and you wont get the return on investment from the use in your end result. Simple. 5. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate Does everyone know what is going to happen on go live day? If necessar y, prepare a countdown plan that documents who is doing what for each hour. Weve used these successfully on large software implementations where there are multiple steps and teams involved in getting the new technology up and running. For example, the infrastructure team needs to ensure the hardware is ready and has gone through the final checks. Then the platform team prepares the environment and takes the necessary backups. An applications team does the installation and then there is data migration that needs user sign off. You can see how so many moving parts could cause problems if there isnt a clear step-by-step approach to running the big day. 6. Tidy Up Your Documentation Your project documents are going to form the basis of what people are looking at in the future to find out what they need to know about what happened. Make sure that you archive and tidy up any project-related documentation including your project logs, and any project reports that show the history and k ey decisions. People might need to refer to these in the future. 7. Do the Change Management Or work with someone who is going to do it, if you have skilled department leaders or a business change manager on staff. Managing change on projects is a key factor in making sure that you get the business benefits that you are expecting. It can help embed the new processes or products and stop people from going back to the old ways of working. 8. Check the Knowledge Transfer OK, so you wont be making the IT Service Desk sit an exam on your project or anything, but put some time and effort aside to check that they really have taken onboard the knowledge that you have transferred to them. You can do this by sticking around for the first week of go live, or getting them involved in dealing with projects, or even letting them run the whole of the implementation. Be there if they need you, and talk to the management of those teams to check everyone is feeling confident before you move a way. 9. Dont Forget the Data Whether you are implementing something new or upgrading something, there is going to be organizational data involved somehow. If you have to move data from one place or system to another, plan for that (and how you are going to check that its all made it OK). If you are creating new data sources- be that a new office location or software product- make sure that it can feed data back into the companys main systems as planned. In many cases, the final test is in the live environment. Have the technical team and data analysts on standby in case things dont work out quite as you had hoped. 10. Plan Your Exit You dont want to be part of this project forever, so you need to know that you can gracefully exit. The idea is to make your dispensable so that you can easily transition into a new project. Once the business as usual team can stand by themselves, you should no longer be needed. Plan to make that happen as quickly as possible
Friday, November 22, 2019
Hate Looking for a Job 8 Signs You Need a Career Coach
Hate Looking for a Job 8 Signs You Need a Career Coach Hate Looking for a Job 8 Signs You Need a Career Coach Just ask yourself these three simple questionsDo you have a serious problem landing an bewerbungsinterview?Do you hate your job, but dont know what else to go for?Do you get worried even thinking about job interviews?Did you answer Yes to any one of these questions?If so, you are in need of some help from a hiring professional. A great career coach will do more than just lead you down the right career path. As your career advisor, they will help you to polish your resume and interview skills. An expert will help you seek out positions in the hidden job market that allow you to best utilize your strengths and personality. They will build you up internally to help you land the dream job that you want.Whether youre an MBA graduate, trying to relaunch your career, or desperately in need of a change, a career advisor will provide you with that extra help you need to find the job you were destined to have.Want a few more clues to help you determine whether you need a career coach right now? Check the list below.1. You Hate Your JobAre you constantly watching the clock when you are at work? Do you feel a deep sense of I dont want to be here every minute you are there? Is it the normal feeling that you have when you reach your office every day? If yes, you certainly need to contact a career professional right now.2. You Have Outgrown Your PositionOkay, so you learned everything you needed to know at your current job. Do you need a new challenge? A career coach can help you to identify a new career path to which you can smoothly transition and in which you can utilize the valuable knowledge and skills you have gained from your past positions.3. You Have a Negative Outlook on LifeA job is a job. Its not alwaysvery fun, butgoing to a job you hate can result in around-the-clock schwimmbad moods. You dont want to take out your frustration and anger on your roommat es, family members, or significant other, do you? Hire a professional who can direct you towards a more positive and productive approach towards your work life.4. You Have a Problem Keeping a JobJob hopping is not a fashion trend. It indicates that you are looking for the wrong jobs every time. Do you not know what job you want to do? A hiring professional will be able to help you uncover your real passion and the role that keeps you engaged.5. No Room for AdvancementStuck in the position you are in? SolutionFind a new job that lets you grow whether in terms of money, satisfaction, or future prospects Dont know how to do that? You need to hire a professional.6. You Dont Know Your Strengths and WeaknessesAll too often, people find themselves in jobs that they cant seem to master. No, they are not lazy. In fact, fruchtwein of them work harder than anyone else in the office. Unfortunately, the problem lies with the particular position. You need to work where your personality, skills, and strengths are all aligned together. Do you know what your personal strengths and weaknesses are? No? Let a career advisorhelp you uncover them.7. You Cant Get an InterviewYou have spent hours scouring LinkedIn, updating your profile, and submitting your resume to dozens of companies, but still havent gotten one interview. Why? Your resume sucks Even with all the right degrees and qualifications, an unprofessional, clumsy resume gets thrown into the garbage bin without garnering a single look from the recruiter.Career coaches know how to create a resume that will help your skills shine and get noticed by the company of your dreams.8. You are Getting Interviews, But No OffersYou got the interview. Kudos to you You already have the qualification that your dream company is looking for. But you didnt get the offer. Why? Your unimpressive interview skills therein lies the problem. Sometimes, going to an interview can feel like an interrogation, bringing on intense feelings of anxiety and nervousness, making it difficult to answer the questions, or at least have a good answer for the questions. Result you dont get the job offer. Dont worry. All you need is a little help from your career coach.If you think you know what career you want or already have your dream job, congratulations. You are among a lucky fewBut for most of us, a little help from a trained professional is exactly what we need.Because a job is not what you do, but who you are.
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Is the Resume Objective Statement Truly Dead
Is the Resume Objective Statement Truly Dead Is the Resume Objective Statement Truly Dead Youve almost certainly heardthe news The resume objective statement is dead. Itis old-fashioned, of little value, and should absolutely always be replaced with a professional summary.Theres good reason for this sentiment The traditional objective focuses on you, your goals, your needs, and your aspirations. Employers today are less interested in what youre hoping to gain from a position and more interested in what you can offer them. They want to know whether you have what it takes to meet their needs, solve their problems, and help them achieve their goals. Unlike an objective, a good summary statementoffers this information.Resume objectives also tend to state the obvious (a hiring manager can usually infer what your objective is), and theyre often fairly vague and filled with empty clichs. So, for the most part, a career summary is the way to go. A well-written onecan have a hiring manager itching to meet you before they have even finished reading your resume. By highlighting at the top of your resume how your skills, experience, and accomplishments position you perfectly to tackle the demands of the new job, you set the right tone and give recruiters a positive lens through which to read the rest of your document.A summary is also a great way to pull together lots of different experiences and achievements to tell one overarching story. It is therefore especially important for seasoned professionals with lengthy work histories.But despite all the summarys benefits, it may notlage have totally supplanted the objective statement just yet.When an Objective Statement Makes More SenseWhen youve walked a traditional path and there is an obvious link between your career background and the position youre applying for, a summary works well. But what happens when this is not the case? What if it would pay to give more context and be more specific about your goals? If you find y ourself in a situation where you feel the need to explain what youre looking for, an objective statement is probably more appropriate.Here are three scenarios in particular in which an objective might be the way to go1. When Youre Changing CareersIf youre making a big career change and you opt to include a voreingestellt resume summary, hiring managers in your target field might wonder why on earth youre sending your application to them. Whats in your summary likely wont align neatly with what they want. You need to make the link for them by explicitly stating that your objective is to switch focus from your previous career to this new one. In other words, you need to write an objective statement. You can then use the majority of this section to detail how you hope to transfer your relevant knowledge and capabilities to the field of your future.Its important that you dont simply stateyour aim is to make a career change. Keep the focus on your transferable skills and how you plan to use them to meet the specific needs of the organization. This way, you balance what you want with what you can offer.2. WhenYoure Returning to Work After a GapIf youve been absent from the workforce for quite some time, it is best to be up front about this with prospective employers. It therefore makes sense to address this fact and clearly define your goals - e.g., to return to full-time work after X years of at-home parenting - in an objective statement at the top of your resume. Once youve touched on this, you can shift the emphasis to the value you can contribute to the role.Directly addressing your aspirations to work again in an objective statement also gives you the chance to communicate how excited you are about the prospect of reigniting your career. Employers are often concerned that people coming off a hiatus might change their minds and return to whatever they were doing in their time off, so they will be pleased to see enthusiasm and commitment.3. When Youre New to th e WorkforceIf you are a new grad, you wont have a lot of work experience behind you. You might also havemajored in afield that doesnt translate clearly into a specific avenue of work. As a result, how you would fit into a role wont necessarily be clear from your background and educational information. In this case, opting for a resume objective over a summary might be worthwhile.Be careful, though. If you write an old-school objective like, New grad seeking a position as a junior graphic designer at a reputable advertising agency, youre not going to impress recruiters. You need to link your needs with what you can do for the company. Show how youd be a great fit and detail specific business problems youd like to help the organization address.The point in all cases above is that while it is acceptable to include an objective in place of a summary in these situations, you should always make the effort to look beyond your own ambitions to speak to what matters most to hiring managers. Ultimately, its about matching your goals with the companys aspirations in a concise, meaningful way.LiveCareer has tools that help job seekers build targeted resumes and cover letters, including a freeresume builderand extensive collection ofcover letter examples.Master the art of closing deals and making placements. Take our Recruiter Certification Program today. Were SHRM certified. Learn at your own pace during this 12-week program. Access over 20 courses. Great for those who want to break into recruiting, or recruiters who want to further their career.
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