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Fuzzy Headed Job Goals Lead to a Fuzzy Headed Life!Article Category : Others May I clarify in this article what I believe to be “fuzzy headed” life and job decisions. I believe both are entwined: life and job. “Fuzzy Headedness” is a result of not HAVING and ACTING on life goals. It’s easy to fall into the trap of not making real decisions for oneself. Others can make them for us. We can drift and go to the job and life that just happens. I think we all know people that have lived like this for a long time! It is all right to let some things in life just happen. That puts some glitter and fun into a life that is worth living. However, if fuzzy thinking and acting is a pattern in one’s life, then TOO MUCH JUST HAPPENING makes a life that is out of focus. Focus keeps all lives from unraveling. It is essential for a job seeker to have a great goal and FOCUS. Focus, plans, goals, action steps can keep us all out of the fuzzy headed, fuzzy ball of thinking, which curls up on itself, yes, just like a ball of thread! Now who wants to live a life that is like a ball of thread? No one that I know of. In order to not be fooled and trapped into lots of fuzziness thinking and acting out, it helps to have a plan. Plans which are carried out and acted upon can give a job seeker more than a fuzzy ball. Job seekers need to be as deliberate as possible and looking for at least three job targets, in order to not succumb to the “unraveling” effects of fuzziness thinking. Marilyn J. Tellez, M.A.
Article Category : Others There’s no denying that a healthy work environment is a top concern for most employees. Review any employee satisfaction survey and you’re apt to find this issue among the top five concerns of your staff ? sometimes above the issue of pay. So how do you know if your organization provides a safe, healthy environment for employees? Well, there are some signs to look for. 1. Employees laugh often. Generally, humor is a sign of comfort. Employees that feel comfortable with co-workers and have joy in their work will exhibit laughter throughout the day. 2. Employees freely share their ideas. Does management truly have an open-door policy? Employees need a safe environment to share their ideas. Most employees have an opinion about how to make things better. Lack of unsolicited feedback from staff may indicate that they do not feel safe in presenting their opinions. 3. Employee values and expectations are clear. Staff must know what is expected from them. Codes of conduct, expectations of behavior on the job, and professional values must be included in each job description, and reviewed at each performance evaluation. 4. We work simply. Frivolous demands and activities can add stress to an already busy schedule. You’d be surprised how many non-essential duties staff are asked to perform. Some are hidden. How many reports and activities are collecting the same data? 5. Our organization is reasonably orderly and comfortable. A cluttered, disorganized environment is not healthy. A healthy work environment is also comfortable. How many chairs do you have that employees refuse to sit in because they are uncomfortable? Why are they still around? 6. Employees have strong connections with others. A link to the community is a sign of caring. Encourage and reward staff that volunteer outside of work. Have a special event that the organization supports as a whole. Creating a healthy work environment is possible. First, make having a healthy work environment a priority. Then, look for the above indicators. Some areas you have control, others you do not. Lastly, support actions that encourage improvements in the above areas. About The Author Ron Prewitt is a Personal Life Coach who helps people with life, career, business, or relationship challenges. Create your “best life” today. To learn more visit www.ronprewitt.com, or call (702) 460-6489.
Article Category : Others The Super Bowl is a game but, like sports in general, it offers useful life lessons that we can take with us . . . if we only look below the surface. As I watched the game, I saw a number of things. How many did you see? 1. Winning is a team effort. The teams that make it to the game don’t get there by accident. There are teams of planners and leaders who are constantly evaluating player performance and performing competitive analysis of the team and its capabilities with others. Scouts are looking to improve it. A GM looks at the draft and player cost to see where he can improve. Trainers and doctors are reviewing medicals. And then the coaches start getting involved. You need to look at your own career in the same way in advance of when you need to make a job change. What is the market like for what you do? Do you excel, are you ordinary or below average? What can I do to upgrade my skills before management starts looking for lower cost alternatives? What is my real value (and understand that is a changing figure both up AND down)? 2. It is important to network to develop close and effective relationships with other professionals in your field. When management starts looking to hire new players, they are working with player agents who they often know from other negotiations. Doesn’t that make the process smoother for everyone? 3. Attack your search like your life depends on it. Teams often come out attacking their opponent on both offense and defense. You need to attack your search with ferocity and not casually. 4. If your plan isn’t working, make adjustments. Both teams enter the locker room with concrete feedback about their plan and how it’s working or not working. If your plan isn’t working as well as you like, change it using the feedback you’re getting, just like the pros do. Analyze what is working and what isn’t and adapt. 5. Keep a level head about you. It’s one thing to play with a lot of emotion on the field, but it’s hard to sustain for 60 minutes. Both the Eagles and Patriots came out with aggressive blitzes early in the game and attacking offenses before settling into a rhythm. In job searching, you may start off the search with a lot of fervor, but you need to remember that a search can take a long while. You need to manage your emotions for a 60 minute game and not just the first quarter. 6. Try not to be predictable. A football team that runs the same plays in the same sequence or under the same circumstances becomes predictable and other teams learn what they will do and will out perform them 7. Big mistakes can be critical. It’s one thing to be defeated on a play or a series. It’s another to make a bad call and be left exposed to a big play at a critical time like the Patriots did letting the Eagles back in the game with a 30 yard touchdown late in the game. When you get to the end of the search, it is best to have an agent negotiate for you, rather than leave you exposed to your own emotional whipsawing; if you aren’t being represented by one, try to get input from trusted advisors with real knowledge (not your uncle who knows nothing about your industry but has good intentions). 8. Planning starts as soon as the game is over. As soon as the teams walked off the field, I can assure you that both will be planning for change for the next season and will take steps to rectify perceived weaknesses. What that means for you is that you continue your career development, training and networking even when you’ve just started a job. After all, the time when you have the most leverage in a negotiation is when you don’t need a new job. ?2005 all rights reserved. Jeff Altman - Concepts in Staffing Jeff Altman has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is also co-founder of Your Next Job, a networking group focused on assisting technology professionals with their job search, a certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist. For additional job hunting or hiring tips, go to http://www.newyorkmetrotechnologyjobs.com If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at jeffaltman@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).
Article Category : Others In a joint venture that encompasses several major property If the prospect of generating a return on your investment Starting with the initial teleseminar in early January, The people involved in this promotion have all been The Realtor group selected specializes in identifying major Kirt Christensen, a leading Internet Marketer, used his Dr Stan Harris is one of the USA’s leading Motivational Although the property market has its ups and downs, if you At the moment, properties in Florida and Georgia are still —————————————————-
Article Category : Others Getting along with your co-workers is critical to your The first step toward getting the assistance of your You may think an individual with a different race or If you have an attitude of discrimination against a The real difficulty in relating to fellow employees comes Other symptoms of emotional immaturity are the inability It’s also difficult to deal with co-workers who don’t have, Your job may provide your life with meaning and purpose. Your happiness and success at work requires you to accept You must impress upon them that you are not a threat. You ———————————————————- Copyright(C)2004 Bucaro TecHelp. To learn how to maintain
Article Category : Others I like Simon, one of three judges on American Idol. I find his feedback refreshingly honest. And while his words startle me with their ego wounding potential, the traditional feel-good, let-you-down-easy, sugar-coated feedback is not much of a gift. It’s hard to tell someone they’re not good enough and their dreams are not going to happen, at least in this venue. But not telling them is no gift either. Some contestants rise to the challenges he throws at them. Some don’t. And, some can’t. Which one are you? ?/P> The people who influenced me most in my career were those who gave me the hardest critiques. Stricken with a bruised-ego for days, or on occasion for months, inevitably their feedback helped me make the right life choices to improve, change direction, or stay the course with intensity. In fact, the boss who was the hardest on me is the one I thank the most. Good was not good enough if I was capable of better, and she was quick to point out when that was. No sugar coating from her. And the funny thing? When I was honest with myself, I knew she was right. ?/P> Being honest with yourself is one of the challenges to winning at working. We all have talents and abilities, but they’re not always in the areas we pursue at work. Too many people I’ve run across in my career have American Idol Syndrome (AIS). Like Idol contestants auditioning with little or no singing ability, these people believe they are good at what they do. They can’t understand why they don’t get the promotion, the outstanding review, or the highest increases. They view themselves as varsity team material, but they play with junior varsity skills. ?/P> When I was a freshman at Stanford, I got a D in biology. Stanford graded on a bell-curve, so an 84% that might traditionally put me in a B category, was near the class bottom. Accustomed to A’s, first quarter grades woke me up. At first, I rationalized a D at Stanford was an A or a B at most any other school. But, reality prevailed. I wasn’t at another school. If I was going to compete at the school I was at, it was time to use more than high school skills to bring results. ?/P> Are you applying yourself? Are you as good as you could be to get the raise, the promotion, or the more interesting work? If these are things you want, don’t suffer from AIS. Give yourself some Simon-esk feedback. Ego aside. A Simon-esk answer to the questions, “how good are you?” and “are you in the right field?” offers you a chance at becoming happier and more successful at working. The answers give you choices: you can stay the course; find a playing field at your skill level; improve your skills to compete where you are; or change directions. ?/P> (c) 2004 Nan S. Russell.?All rights reserved. Sign up to receive Nan’s free biweekly eColumn at www.winningatworking.com.燦an Russell has spent over twenty years in management, most recently with QVC as a Vice President. She has held leadership positions in Human Resource Development, Communication, Marketing and line Management. Nan has a B.A. from Stanford University and M.A. from the University of Michigan. Currently working on her first book, Winning at Working: 10 Lessons Shared, Nan is a writer, columnist, small business owner, and on-line instructor.燙ontact Nan at nan@nanrussell.com. ?/P>
Article Category : Others For many of us, telecommuting seems like the ideal situation. You wake up, shuffle over to your home office, work at your own pace. You take a break when it suits you, you end your day when you’re ready to. You can rearrange your work schedule to fit around your personal life. Or can you? What motivates most people to seek telecommuting is the need for a balance between work and play. Ironically, it’s often this desire for balance that leads people to the realization that telecommuting is not for them. Take Meg Rottman. Now the President of her own Public Relations company, StylePR, Meg once thought that telecommuting was the perfect solution. At the time, she was working as a Fashion Editor for a company located in New York. Since she was on the West Coast, and her job didn’t require her presence in an office, she felt it was a natural fit to work from home. “At first, it seemed like a great opportunity,” says Meg. “Ultimately, I found that I didn’t have ‘work time’ and ‘play time’. It morphed into just ‘time’”. “I found that there was no beginning or ending to my day. And there was no time off. I would jump out of bed in the morning with an idea and go directly to the computer. And then, often I would still be typing at 11:00 at night. It was almost like being on call. I wanted my time to be more compartmentalized”. This is a common side effect of working from home. It takes no small amount of discipline to structure your day- and stick to it. The funny thing is, having the ability to take a break and do other things in the middle of the workday is the reason many people want to telecommute in the first place. Meg realized this. “If you really schedule your day, then how can you justify taking a walk, or putting a roast in? You can’t,” she says. “Maybe you’re giving up what made working at home so great to begin with.” It wasn’t all bad though. Meg did discover some things about herself. “I really did not need supervision, I was completely self-motivated. The surprising thing was that I worked more”. Not surprising is the fact that Meg now owns her own company. “[Telecommuting] definitely gave me the feeling that I was already working for myself, so why not do that?” she says. “Yes I have to drive to my office now, but it is easier for me to separate work and home and create a more balanced life.” Sometimes, things just aren’t what you thought they’d be- and sometimes that’s a good thing. ——————————– Sharon Davis is the Mom to two girls, the owner of 2Work-At-Home.Com, Work At Home Articles.net and the Editor of the site’s monthly ezine, America’s Home. In her spare time she reminisces about what it was like to have spare time. This article may be reproduced providing it is published in it’s entirety, including the author’s bio. For a text version via autoresponder, send a blank email to tightrope@sendfree.com
Article Category : Others Ok, so you’ve determined that you have the right skills and qualities to do your job effectively from home. You’re sure that your job is well suited to telecommuting. Now you just need your boss to agree that this is a great idea, but how? The best approach is to make a proposal. A proposal is a very effective way to sell the idea to your employer because it can be used to highlight the benefits, and presents your request in an organized, professional manner. A well-written proposal can also show that you can work well on your own (a very important point, since you will be largely unsupervised). The first thing you need to think about is how it will benefit your employer. It’s natural for any human being to want to know what’s in it for them. Make a list of the benefits of allowing telecommuting such as:
Your employer will also be able to enjoy the benefits that telecommuting can have on the community:
Next, think about what concerns your employer might have and address them in your proposal.
Once you’ve done compiled this information, you’re ready to start putting together your proposal. Your proposal should have the following structure: 1. Cover Sheet- This will have the date, your name and title, your company name and your supervisor’s name and title. You can name your proposal something like “Telecommute Proposal” or “Flexible Work Proposal”. 2. Introduction- Here you will outline what your proposal is about. Tell what your goal is and how it would benefit the company. Keep it short and professional. 3. Benefits- This is where your list of benefits goes. 4. Scheduling- You’ll want to start off telecommuting 1-2 days a week. 5. Implementation- Explain what is needed, i.e. equipment, phone line, etc. Here you will address the concerns you feel your employer may have by offering solutions in the proposal. Come up with ideas on how your boss can monitor your performance, how you will communicate with clients and co-worker, and what tasks you will be doing from home. 6. Trial Period- Give your proposed duration for a trial period. 60-90 days is a good length of time to determine effectiveness. 7. Review Criteria- Agree that at the end of the trial period you and your supervisor will review your performance and determine whether or not you can continue telecommuting. 8. References- You can include articles, urls and any other materials that you used to do your research. This way, your supervisor can look at them also and get more information on the benefits of telecommuting. Once you have written your proposal, be sure to spell check for errors. You may want to have someone else read it and give you feedback. Depending on your company structure, you may want to make several copies; one for you, your supervisor, their supervisor, the Human Resources Manager and anyone else you feel would be appropriate. Remember, the more thorough and professional your proposal is, the further it will go in convincing your boss that you have the skills, the motivation, and the work ethic to telecommute. For more information on telecommute proposals: ====>Telecommuting Proposals from About.com ——————————– Sharon Davis is the Mom to two girls, the owner of 2Work-At-Home.Com, Work At Home Articles.net and the Editor of the site’s monthly ezine, America’s Home. In her spare time she reminisces about what it was like to have spare time. To subscribe to her free ezine, Click Here. This article may be reproduced providing it is published in it’s entirety, including the author’s bio. For a text version via autoresponder, send a blank email to dayjob2@sendfree.com
Article Category : Others Are you desperately trying to find a telecommute job so that you can quit your current one? Hold on! Your job just might have the potential to be done from home. With the right approach, a little research and a good proposal, many employees are selling the idea of telecommuting to their employers. In this first segment, we focus on the steps you should take in order to determine whether or not your job is a candidate for telecommuting. Many jobs are well suited for telecommuting…and many aren’t. Your first step should be to evaluate your current job and determine whether or not it is feasible to do it from home. Ask yourself the following questions:
Here are some useful resources for evaluating your current job and for determining whether telecommuting is right for you: ====>Do You Have The Skills to Telecommute? from About.com ====>Is Telecommuting For You? In Part 2, we will discuss the ways that you can convince your boss to let you telecommute. ——————————– Sharon Davis is the Mom to two girls, the owner of 2Work-At-Home.Com, Work At Home Articles.net and the Editor of the site’s monthly ezine, America’s Home. In her spare time she reminisces about what it was like to have spare time. To subscribe to her free ezine, Click Here. This article may be reproduced providing it is published in it’s entirety, including the author’s bio. For a text version via autoresponder, send a blank email to dayjob@sendfree.com
Article Category : Interview Tips, Others I am in my mid-thirties, and, as you can imagine, I have changed and looked for jobs many times in my life. No matter how successful was in my job hunting research, I realized that there are certain ground “rules” that need to be respected; otherwise, we will not get what we want from our careers. First of all, forget about your resume. A resume can’t get you a job. A resume won’t get you a job. Research proved that for 1,400 resumes sent out, there is only ONE job offer! The percentage is very low so instead of worrying too much about the structure, the layout and the type of fonts you will use to create a fantastic resume, do the following: Find what you really want to do in life. By saying that, I don’t only imply a job title. Yes, you would like to be a marketing executive, an editor, an IT consultant or a flying attendant; however, it’s the nature of the job you will have to think of, in the first place. Do you like nine-to-five roles, well structured and in an office? Do you prefer to work in the outdoors? Do you mind getting up at dawn to work and taking afternoons off? Would you mind being on a plane or ship, or do you think that is a fun way to get a pay check? If you feel that you do not have the answer to these questions, think twice. Make lists with things you enjoy in life: your interests, your hobbies, your passions. Then ask your friends or family. What do they think about you? Very often, we do not have a very clear idea of what we like in life, as we are very much “into it”. Our closest people, though, can help us by identifying areas, hang-ups or paths we ignore or are unable to see. Just give it a go, play around, ask people and move on. By the end of your research, you will know, for example, that you are the person who enjoys working on his own, prefers the unstructured life style, and works well at night. Then, a career in writing or painting might not sound like a bad idea. Identify the industries you are attracted to. This is a funny task. Very often, we think we like everything. We like the movies, books, planes, hotels, schools and restaurants. Yes, we do. This does not imply that we would like to work for these industries. Enjoying a nice meal at your local restaurant, does not necessarily make you a successful cook. Your love for children does not make you a happy and wise teacher, either. Finding the industry of your choice is a long term process, and it will require constant research and clarity on your part. I remember I had a huge “crush” on the film industry five years ago. I worked for a film festival that didn’t last more than two months. I kept applying for jobs in the film industry, unsuccessfully. The problem was that I did not exactly know what type of job I wanted to do. Was it script writing, producing, PR, acting or what? Then I started to take classes on film writing. It was when I finished the third class of script writing that I understood that going to the movies was a fun hobby, but that this was not my industry. After that, I gave up sending resumes and I concentrated on my real needs and desires. I finally found a job for a different industry that I enjoyed. Have a real project. For two weeks, buy all the newspapers and magazines you can find in your local area and/or nationally. Then clip job ads you feel attracted to. Keep them in a folder on a daily basis. Each morning, find out the main elements of the job ad. Was it an intellectual job, a creative role, an analytical position or something that involved adventure and taking risks? Do you prefer management roles or travel, editing or calculating, speaking or thinking? If you do that consistently for two weeks, you will have a very clear idea of the roles/jobs you like. I experimented myself, and I found out that when looking for nine-to-five roles, I liked all management positions because they offered flexibility, travel, high profile contacts and decision making. My client, Helen, who is an editor in a publishing house loves her job although she admits that it can be repetitive sometimes. I could not imagine Helen managing, as she is the type of person who thrives on independent, analytical and writing jobs. On the other hand, my friend John, who is a lecturer at the local college, enjoys research and teaching. Last but not least: the most important element for successful job hunting is to find out who you are, not just what you want to do. Are you a leader, a writer, a speaker, a motivator? An explorer, a risk-taker, an analyst, an artist or a priest? As an identity, you are unique. Just recognize your uniqueness and authenticity, and move on. Finding the job you want is the first step. Then you have to do this job for forty hours a week for a whole life. It is important that you deserve to express “your being” while doing it? There are many other tips and strategies that will help us all to find what we want to do for a living. These four strategies form, in my opinion, the foundation to success for a first, second or fifth job. Maybe you will find a new job that will fit your personality better, because you found out who you are. Happy Hunting! Thei Zervaki is a career coach and founder of http://www.ditchyouresume.com. She coaches individuals who don’t like to edit resumes, delivers fun workshops and helps her clients to get results. Email her at tzervaki@ditchyouresume.com.
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