Curated by the Knowledge Team of ICS Career GPS
Education
Boost your child’s confidence
Excerpts from article by Samira Khan, published in moms.com
A confident child is always more successful and happy in life than a passive child. To be successful, confidence is the most important thing. And confidence is something that is cultivated during childhood.
Let’s get to know what are the activities that can boost your child’s confidence
1. Playing Games
Games are not just a source of fun for kids but also a very effective tool of learning. Always engage your kids in both physical/outdoor and mental/indoor games. Physical games will make them more energetic and their bodies flexible. Mental games will boost their intelligence.
2. Doing Small Home Chores
Home chores are not just duties to be done but also fun. And this fun makes your child both confident and responsible. So teach your child to do small home chores according to their age and capacity. This will create a sense of being strong enough or being capable of helping others.
3. Encouraging & Rewarding
Encouraging and praising your child will be like a confidence supplement for them. Encouragement makes one strive for better. A child is sensitive about whether he is encouraged or discouraged by their parents and teachers. So encourage your child for making small efforts even if they fail in it. Give them small rewards that should not seem like bribing them.
4. Understanding their Goals
Sit and discuss their aims of life off and on. See what they want to be when they grow up. Observe their aptitude and create activities for them accordingly. Guide them if they don’t know their goal of life.
5. Asking for their Suggestions
Your child will feel special and more confident if you ask for their suggestion in small decisions of your daily life. Sometimes children have far better sense of choice than adults. This will not only boost their confidence but will make them ask for your advice too when they are going to pick and choose something.
6. Helping them face their Fears
Making your child confident and strong enough to face their fears is very important. But sometimes parents choose wrong way for this. Don’t force or impose anything, and make them face their fears without emphasising on its intensity.
7. Letting them Speak & Express
Never discourage when they speak even if they are speaking senseless things. But guide them what to say and what not to say. Freedom of speech is very important to boost confidence of a child. Let them tell you everything and teach them not to lie or hide things.
8. Making a list of Affirmations
Making a list of affirmations really helps your child grow confidence and live their life in a planned way. Ask them to take a piece of paper and write all of the affirmations which are in their minds. This will make their mind positive and purposeful.
Career
Write a résumé that stands out
Excerpts from article by Amy Gallo, published in Harvard Business Review
The resume: this may be your best chance to make a good first impression, so you’ve got to get it right. You have to think carefully about what to say and how to say it. After all, it’s more than a resume; it’s a marketing document. It’s not just hiring managers who are your ideal audience. You might also send it out to people in your network who can help make introductions. In a tough market, your CV has to get you remembered & recommended.
Here’s how to write a resume that will be sure to win attention
1. Customise it
Don’t send the same resume to every job. You can have a foundational resume that compellingly articulates the most important information, but you have to alter it for each opportunity. The first step, you carefully read the job description and highlight the five or six most important responsibilities.
2. Yes, you do need a summary
The first 15-20 words of your resume are critically important because that’s how long you usually have a hiring manager’s attention. Start with a brief summary of your expertise. You’ll have the opportunity to expand on your experience further down in your resume and in your cover letter.
3. Get the order right
Add an accomplishments section right after your summary that makes the bridge between your experience and the job requirements. After the accomplishments section, list your employment history and related experience. You should highlight your work experience first and save your degrees and certifications for the end.
4. Don’t worry too much about gaps
If you were doing something during that time that might be relevant to the job, you can include it. Or you might consider explaining the gap in your cover letter, as long as you have a brief, positive explanation.
5. Be selective
A resume is a very selective body of content. It’s not meant to be comprehensive. If it doesn’t contribute to convincing the hiring manager to talk to you, then take it out.
6. Share accomplishments, not responsibilities
You can’t and shouldn’t quantify everything; you don’t want your resume to read like an accounting report. Highlighting your accomplishments is especially important in today’s tight job market.
7. Make it readable
Stick to the most common fonts and avoid fancy layouts that may not be recognised by online application systems. It’s not how fancy it is, it’s how clear, clean, and elegant it is in its simplicity. Vary the line length and avoid crammed text or paragraphs that look identical.
8. Ask for help
It can be hard to be objective about your own experience and accomplishments. Many people overstate or understate their achievements or struggle to find the right words. Consider working with a resume writer, mentor, or a friend who can help you.
9. Align your LinkedIn Profile
Your LinkedIn profile is just as important as your resume. You want to make sure you’re presenting yourself in the same way. But don’t just cut and paste from your resume.
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article mentioned above are those of the author(s). They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of ICS Career GPS or its staff.)
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