How to Be a Better Freelancer

Working as a freelance employee means having all the time on your hands. You can make plans on how you are going to spend the whole day and still earning money. But before this, you have to work on your profession as a freelancer.

Here are some advices for you to be a successful freelancer.

  1. Make yourself accessible. Today, everyone and everything is on the internet. Creating a blog site or website could connect you to potential clients.
  2. Update your portfolio. Clients prefer to see outputs. You could impress them by updating your portfolio with your latest works. Check the technicalities of your works (such as spelling, pictures, and video presentations) and remember that presentation is everything.
  3. Sharpen your skills. You are not the only self-employed in the country, there are plenty of competition outside, if you’re just go ‘in to rely on your skills without even improving it, you will definitely be left behind. Check for tutorial videos and workshops to practice your skills.
  4. Set a time frame. You have to prepare yourself working overtime to stay on top, but it is essential to give yourself a break. Overworking exhausts your mind and hinders you from thinking great ideas.

Call Center Interview Tips: Best Ways to Get Hired

Call center is one of the most trending jobs in the metro today. Unlike other careers, everyone could apply in call center agencies even if they are under grad or graduated with courses that does not relevant on it. So you have to be competitive enough to get the job. Here are some job interview tips that might help you get hired in no time.

Research. It is important for you to know the specific position you are applying for and all about it. Some of the companies ask you about it and its job description and rephrases the question every now and then. Knowing about the opening is not enough; you must be knowledgeable of what the possible tasks they will give you. Also, you must know about the company background, they might ask you some questions about that.

Practice makes perfect. There are common question in all companies such as;

» Tell me something about yourself
» How did you know about us?
» Why do you want to work here?
» Why should I hire you?
» Tell me something about the book you read or movie you watched lately

These are trick questions. Interviewers tend to see your communication and critical thinking skills by answering these questions. It is good for you to practice your answers, grammar and pronunciation as well.

Dress to impress. Pleasing personality is essential in looking for a job. So you must groom and wear your best dress. It is not necessarily to put those tuxedos and cocktail dresses for a job interview, a simple and presentable attire will do, as long as you’re comfortable wearing it.

Be professional. Always remember that ‘first impression lasts.’ As an applicant, it is important to show the company that you are professional and you wanted the job. Being on time could show how eager you are to get the position. Always arrive 10-15 minutes before your appointment. In that case, you will still have time to powder your nose and fix yourself.

Pay attention. Most of the interviewers use English with western accent in job interviews. You must listen carefully for you to understand what they mean to say. Speak when needed and answer the questions clearly and short as possible.

Be optimistic. Think that you are going to get the job. This mind setting could help you build self-confidence and this would reflect in your movements and the way you answer the questions. Set aside the questions about salary and the schedule. Thinking about it might affect the way how you answer their questions.

Be yourself. Being natural is the best way how you are going to land the job. Smile and be friendly.

Just remember these Call Center interview tips. This could be your key to be hired.

Tips on How to Be A Good Online Writer

Online writing was not that different from writing for print, and as a writer, you have to create a guide on what is your writing weather it is online writing guide or for print.

One third of the population of the world today is on the web. Having an internet access is like reaching the world in your fingers. Anyone can crate, share their works, and learn from others. It is like discovering the different regions of the world without leaving the country.

You got a large vast of audience around the globe, so here are some writing tips that you might use while writing for the net.

  1. Brain storm. A good topic was created by great minds. While thinking of a topic, you must consider the some points like; know your audience, the approach to be used, and many more. In this stage, you have to see how you are going to write your article. It is advisable to create a pattern or guide for you to use in writing the article.
  2. Scout for reliable source. Before writing a topic, do your research. Write only facts and do not rely on ‘hear says’. Integration is very essential, it is better if you are going to base on what you have seen and feel during integration. It could help you grow as writer.
  3. Scan what’s on the document. Once you are good with your information resources and data gathering, take time to scan all the documents. For you to avoid mistakes and ensure that all essential information are in, read it from top to bottom, from the first word up to the last period of the sentences.
  4. Use familiar and specific words. You are writing for different type of people. You have to know your target audience and use the words that could be easy for them to understand. Basic English words will do. Anyways you are writing to inform them and not impress your readers.
  5. Keep it short. Do not bore your readers with long and null introductions. Metaphors and adjectives are okay but do not overdo it. Some writers use this to hide the absence of important information, and sometimes cause of libel and plagiarism cases. Also avoid unnecessary use of business jargon; not all of your readers can understand it.
  6. Check and rewrite. Before publishing, you must check for spellings, content, technicalities, typographical and grammatical error. Best results often come from throwing away the first batch of manuscript.
  7. Publish. Upload your work and allow your readers to critic it. Hearing feedbacks is better. You will also able to know whether your readers really understand what you have written.

These tips are also applicable to personal blog and opinion writers. Whatever you write you must pattern a guide on how to write it. Following your online writing guide will make this job easy for you. The most important thing is to stand on what you have written and be responsible on it.

How to Write An Impressive Resume

Making an impressive resume is one of the key of getting a job, for this will be one of the employer’s basis weather to consider you for employment or not.

Photo. If you’re submitting your resume thru online, your employers want to see who they’re hiring is. So make yourself presentable on your resume. Wear corporate attire, no funny angles, and smile.
Fonts. Use fonts that can be easily read. Employers will check your credentials and not your creativity. 10-12 is the ideal font size for the resume.

Short and Organized. Write the essential information about you, short and concise. Try to arrange the information about you in chronological order so it could be easy to understand. Using sub headings such as ‘Education’, ‘Internship’, ‘Trainings and Seminars’ are good way of organizing your resume.

Showcase yourself. Use powerful language in your resume. This could help you get the job if the employers will see how good your skills are. Put your most impressive achievements after the educational background.

Cover up. Using cover letter attached with your resume will help you look like more professional. In this, you could write your purpose, desired position, where would you able to read the job offering, etc. Also, you can elaborate on your cover letter what can you do for the company and how can you help on its development.

Follow these tips on how to make an impressive resume. This will surely help you get that job in no time.

SEO Solutions, Tips and Tricks

Blogging whether for fun or business have essential needs and SEO is one of them. SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization,” your FREE online tool that can improve your blog’s web presence. It consists of various techniques and methods, basic and complicated, guaranteed to make your blog or website known to the World Wide Web.

Starting your own blog’s SEO campaign requires basic knowledge and understanding of link building, and most of all, patience. Here’s a few SEO Solutions, Tips and Tricks that can help you jumpstart your own SEO campaign on your WordPress blog.

  1. Avoid going out of topic. This is a big mistake many blog owners do, especially those who make a living by blogging. Unless your blog is just an online diary that only your close friends and relatives are interested to read, then you don’t have to worry about going way out of topic.
  2. Keywords in content. This is one SEO tip that has been repeatedly tipped off, suggested, advised, etc., yet many blog owners are still not getting it. If you’re going to squeeze keywords in your article, please make sure that;
    a. they blend naturally;
    b. always check for spelling and grammatical errors; and
    c. do not overdo it.
  3. Keywords in images. Because search engine bots can’t read images, the “alt attribute” is used to describe images. But keep in mind when using the alt attribute, that it is supposed to describe your image not an “invisible to the naked eye” tool where you can lay all your keywords in. Putting too much keywords inside your alt attributes is considered as keyword stuffing, and bots will see that.
  4. Keywords in permalinks. When inserting a keyword or two in a permalink, you have to make sure that the keywords you use are related to the page’s content, or else, you will get no benefit from it. It will just be a waste of time if you use unrelated keywords on your permalinks, and probably get no love from search engines for not properly naming your permalinks.
  5. Remember your headings. H1, H2, H3 to H…x headings are important to search engine bots, so do not abuse it. If your keyword doesn’t fit in the H1 tag, use it in the H2 tag. Always remember that these tags are used to help visitors, so bots do not give value to blogs and websites that are structured specifically for them.
  6. The All in One SEO Pack. The easiest way to assign different meta descriptions and targeted keywords to your blog’s pages. It’s a free WordPress Plugin that can be easily installed to your blog.
  7. Social network sharing links/buttons. Put social network sharing buttons on your blog posts, that way visitors can easily bookmark and/or share your content anytime they want. It’s a virtual shortcut in getting more web traffic from the most popular social networking websites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Digg, Delicious, Google+, Reddit, StumbleUpon and many more!
  8. Get a sitemap! Or better yet, get two sitemaps for your WordPress blog. There are free plugins that can generate an XML sitemap and HTML sitemap for your blog, which is very helpful. These sitemaps are designed to help your pages get crawled, read and easily indexed by search engine bots.
  9. Dot not forget to distribute your RSS Feed. Companies use it to keep their clients informed about the company, and online shops and boutiques use it to update their customers about the latest products or services they offer. You can also use an RSS Feed to deliver fresh information to your readers fast and hassle-free, so utilize it.
  10. Implement “nofollow” if necessary. If most of the comments you receive are junk, do not hesitate to use “nofollow” no blog comments. This way, spammers will lose interest in dropping senseless comments and unrelated links in your blog comment section.
  11. Linking to related posts. When some articles are related, they are linked together. This is very helpful to readers and a good way to link to your old posts.
  12. Recycling old posts. This is an old trick that mostly works if you do it properly. Old posts that are no longer visited but with good rankings can be recycled to make it more interesting again. You can either rewrite a little and then add new information or rewrite the whole thing without straying far from the topic. Make sure to leave the permalink untouched! If you change it, it will just be a newly created page with no rank and unindexed by search engines.
  13. Ping it! Ping is a free tool used to let bots know you have a fresh content in your blog ready to be crawled.

I hope these SEO Solutions, Tips and Tricks shed some light as to why your blog is not ranking well or why your blog keeps getting penalized by search engines. Always remember that search engines make their own rules, we just follow them. So better make your blog or website search engine friendly or you won’t receive any love from them.

Staff Leasing

For projects that are long-term with periodic deliverables, this is the one for you. We source out a pool of candidates based on given specifications and we let you decide who you think best fits. After which, we set them up with all the necessary tools to ensure delivery under the pre-defined parameters.

Take note that we only source experienced

Want to reduce your costs by as much as 70% while increasing your operational efficiency, flexibility and productivity? That’s completely possible with staff-leasing, which is ideal for long-term projects with periodic deliverables.

Staff-leasing works just like your traditional local staffing process but the difference is that with offshore staff-leasing, you get access to a larger pool of professionals for drastically lower costs. Once you give your hiring specifications, we set out to source a pool of candidates who match your requirements. You may then test or screen such candidates in any manner you think necessary before handpicking the people you want for your project/s. Finally, our team of expert managers will supervise the work of your people and give them the tools and equipment they need to deliver regularly under the pre-defined parameters.

Take note that we only source experienced and qualified candidates to you. Please browse our list of professionals below and see how much you can save and accomplish when you choose to work with iStaff.

Master Programmer

Without a doubt, the Philippines is the emerging leader in the global outsourcing and offshoring industry. Filipino workers are prized for their excellent English communication skills that make communication much clearer. They also have a culture of service that keeps the quality of their output in stellar levels and makes clients come back for more.

So if you need dedicated and talented professionals to work on your project/s, turn to us here at iStaff today.

World-class professionals from the Philippines

Because of its rich talentpool, iStaff is able to provide its diverse clients with highly skilled, experienced professionals in various fields. We have Programmers, Web Designers, SEO Specialists, Internet Marketers, Link Builders, Writers and other highly qualified individuals who are ready to propel your business to new heights and compete globally. To consistently meet the needs and expectations of our clients, we only source candidates who are college graduates with sufficient knowledge and experience in their fields. These professionals have exactly the same skills as their counterparts abroad but they are available for much lower costs.

iStaff Outsourcing 2011

If you already have a well-planned project with specific scope and timeframe, then a project-based approach to hiring offshore staff can save you a lot of money while boosting your efficiency and productivity. iStaff will work with you to carefully determine your project’s specifications, such as how soon exactly you want the project to be completed. We will then follow that plan from day one and make sure your staff submits deliverables on-time and under the predefined parameters. This setup works best if you don’t anticipate any changes to your project or if you have a very short or simple project that you simply need to get done fast but with high-quality results.