Sunday, May 31, 2020
How Do I Make A Shift When Ive Got No Time
âHow Do I Make A Shift When Ive Got No Timeâ Help from our Community âHow Do I Make A Shift When Ive Got No Time?â * Zaira's job takes up all her time and energy. With virtually no idea of what she wants to do next and no time to figure it out, how can she make any progress with her career change? What's your career history and current job? I've worked in the financial services sector for around nine years, and in my current role in a financial risk management company for the last four. How do you feel about your work? Drained. Uninspired. I've become uninspiring myself. It's not like I don't have things to keep me busy â" I'm always running around with lots to do â" but even so, I can't remember the last day at work when I wasn't bored out of my mind. I'm tired all the time. I wouldn't mind the constant exhaustion so much if I felt like what I was doing was making a meaningful impact on people's lives, but I haven't felt that way in years. I manage to see my friends once every couple of weeks, and even then all I have to talk about is work. I haven't held down a relationship in years, because the requirements of my job always get in the way. I feel like my life's taken a back seat to my career, and I'm reaching an age now where I'm realistically going to have to choose between progressing with the company or having some semblance of a life. That doesn't feel right to me. Other people in my office love what they do â" so I feel like a real odd man out and I often wonder what's wrong with me. But I guess I'm just wired differently somehow; I'm not cut out for this kind of lifestyle. What would you like to be doing instead? I really don't know the answer to this one. Something that makes an impact on people â" an impact that I'm close to and that I can see. Something that makes me feel good. Something that gives me a decent workâ"life balance. I come across articles and pictures sometimes that show people working outside, with their hands and the earth, and living a slow-paced life, and I love the idea of that in theory. But I'm also aware that this could be a knee-jerk reaction, just because it's the polar opposite of where I am now. I'm at a real loss when it comes to where to look and what to consider. I just know that where I am isn't right. What's the main obstacle in your way? Time. Time and energy. Iâd like to be able to indulge myself enough to read a career-change book all the way through; to sit and do the tests and exercises and find out what I really want. I'll pick one up and get as far as reading the first chapter, and then it'll sit on my coffee table for the next few months, untouched. I have time to scan through the Careershifters articles on my lunch breaks sometimes, and I see advice to go and try things out and meet new people, but I'm just so constantly run off my feet, I canât fit anything like that in. When I get home from work, often at 8 or 9 p.m., I just want to crash out. It all sounds very gloomy, doesn't it? I can feel myself becoming a very gloomy person. I never used to be, and I don't want to be. I've thought about leaving my job and getting something a bit more slow-paced and relaxed, but it feels like a huge risk when I'm so unclear about what I want and what I might be leaving my current work for. I wouldn't want to have to come crawling back in six months because I've failed at making ends meet while I figure this stuff out. How am I supposed to make a career change when I hardly even have time to go to the supermarket? You see, I write things like that, and then it makes me wonder: if I really wanted to make a change, wouldn't I be doing more to make time for it? Am I just moaning and making excuses because I'm too scared to do anything about how I feel? What's actually going on? And what should I do about it all? Can you help Zaira? Have you been in a similar situation, or are you in the same boat right now? What can she do to make time for her shift? Do you know anyone she could talk to? Share your thoughts in the comments below and click the thumbs-up button to show your support. Give Zaira a cheer of encouragement by clicking the thumbs-up button here:
Thursday, May 28, 2020
What Does Pharmaceutical Sales Resumes Include?
What Does Pharmaceutical Sales Resumes Include?Pharmaceutical Sales Resumes is a key tool in today's highly competitive world. The best companies are very selective when hiring and more resources are being allocated to ensuring that these highly skilled professionals have the best chance of securing a position with that company.It is a key ingredient in the effort to be hired for a company. By having the skills required, and of course the basic ability to write an effective resume, one can be the beneficiary of being selected as a potential candidate. There are certain companies that pay attention to a Pharmaceutical Sales Resume and get a good idea of what qualities an individual brings to the table.Because of the high competitive market, there are often many qualified Pharmaceutical Sales Professionals seeking jobs. The pharmaceutical sales resume can be used to highlight those skills and those relevant experience or achievements that may come from a job interview.Pharmaceutical Sa les Resumes gives a candidate a clear overview of the skills, qualifications and experience which may prove to be highly valuable in the job interview. It should also give the reader an idea of the average number of years in that field. Since so many potential candidates are vying for the same jobs, it is imperative that a potential sales professional should stand out in some way.Pharmaceutical Sales Resumes is generally an outline of a specific job with several departments. So much of this information is relative and less important than the most intricate details.In order to get ahead of the competition, those looking to join a Pharmaceutical Sales Career should review the form. Ensure that all the information is accurate and complete. By reviewing the form, candidates can become aware of their strengths and areas of weakness.After gathering all the information necessary for the job, focus on the strong points that you possess and use these as your selling points. For example, perh aps you have numerous experiences which relate to laboratory work, research and patient care. You may bring these examples to the interview and portray these as your qualifications.Remember, pharmaceutical sales resume is not a requirement to get a job, but it is very helpful in getting an offer. It is a very personal document, which should be reviewed by each applicant before being signed. This will provide a useful guideline to employers to make an informed decision about the best match for the role.
Sunday, May 24, 2020
Improving the Employee Experience
Improving the Employee Experience HR professionals know that the employee experience matters but it can be difficult convincing senior management and accountants that paying attention to this area of operation can make a real difference. At 10Eighty we advocate an employee-centered approach to engagement and motivation that asks management to âsee the world through the eyes of the employeeâ. A 2015 survey by Glassdoor found that companies with a great employee experience outperformed the SP by 122 percent. Communication is key The obvious place to start is by talking to employees. A regular staff questionnaire may offer some insights but employees are often chary of the anonymous questionnaire, nobody really believes that assurance of anonymity. There is evidence that some managers think employee engagement is just about listening to their employees via such attitude surveys but itâs not a two-way communication. Failure to address issues raised by the survey will soon depress confidence in the employee engagement survey as employees come to see it as a sham form of communication. Better to address concerns directly with applicants about the recruitment process, with new starters about the induction process, with established staff and leavers about their work experience. Your leavers are an invaluable potential resource, research has found that only 18% of organizations keep in touch with their ex-employees; this is missing out on the opportunity to tap into their know-how and insights. Applicants may not seem important to the management team but even unsuccessful job seekers who have a good experience when interviewing say they would tell others to apply, and that they are more likely to buy a companyâs products or services. Engagement begins at the first moment of the employee life cycle, even before a job offer. Effective onboarding depends upon creating a positive career experience and transparent growth opportunities for your new hires, starting from day one. The mystery shopper approach is well worth considering. Having someone report on the whole recruitment process can be an eye-opener and can be a useful instrument in addition to the more usual survey methods. That said, walking the workspace and watching work, talking to employees and observing workflow and methods is more straightforward. Career path design A good understanding of what employees actually experience at work enables the design of sustainable career paths such that individuals are enabled to experience positive feelings at work. Where organizations create meaningful jobs that match people to their jobs according to their quali?cations and skill levels itâs possible to raise the level of engagement. Career path design is at the heart of the employee experience, crafting personalized work roles aligned with individual career preferences and organizational needs to maximize performance in competitive market conditions. We know that engagement initiatives often fail and the increased use of new forms of employment contract, the gig economy, donât make such efforts any easier to facilitate. Engagement can be a slippery concept and HR programmes aimed at boosting engagement donât always have the desired effect. Enriching the employee experience requires a measure of planning, preparation, and monitoring to be successful for employees who want and deserve careers that align with their values, talents, and passions. The CIPD head of engagement and London David DâSouza says that âAs a profession, we need to start thinking of engagement as a broader concept. Ask yourselves: when people come into work, are they worse human beings than they were before? That is at the heart of engagement, and getting it right begins with walking towards the things that are wrong.â Think in terms of improving the employee experience over the whole life-cycle and focus on career strategies that work to develop and retain and engage the majority of the workforce.
Thursday, May 21, 2020
Being late is bad
Being late is bad My column was late. Not to you, but to my editor. It is surprising, really, that my column was late, because the time zone difference is in my favor. But this week I would have needed my editor to be in another galaxy. I will not tell you why I was late because the only thing worse than being late telling why you were late. I am not talking about being late because your familys house burned down. I am talking about being late because of slow traffic, a late babysitter, a presentation that ran too long. Upward mobility requires that people can depend on you to be on time. If you are a person who is always late, you will get in trouble. People who are always late think they are only sometimes late, so if you think you are sometimes late, you are probably in trouble. There is no need to give advice on how to be on time, because everyone knows how to be on time. (Heres the proof: If the President of the United States invited you to dinner would there be any risk that youd be late? No.) But perhaps there is a need to show why *all* deadlines and appointments are as important as dinner with the President. The basic problem with being late is that you reveal too much about yourself. In the end, being late reveals either disrespect or incompetence, both of which are important things to not have at work, and if you do have them, hide them by being on time, always. If you are late to a meeting, for example, you are disrespectful to everyone in the room. If your boss is there, forget the promotion. If your direct reports are there, imagine ten years from now when everyone has new jobs at new companies, and your bonus depends on cutting a deal with someone who used to report to you, and that person remembers how disrespectful you were. No bonus. Sometimes people are on time to the meeting but they dont have the report. Forget the excuses because everyone in the room will see you as incapable. There are shades of incapable. There is incapable of doing the report so you procrastinate. There is perceiving that you are incapable even though you are capable which makes you incapable with low self-esteem. There is overloaded and did not get to the report which really means you cannot set limits at work, which translates to low self-esteem, or worse yet, no knowledge of your own limits. How can you fix the problem? Being honest with yourself goes a long way in the late arena. Once I was late to dinner and someone at the table said to me, You must be a time optimist. I had no idea what he was talking about. But then he explained that most people are late because they are too optimistic about how quickly they can do things which is a nice way of saying that people are late because they are not honest with themselves about how long things really take. So if you really want to be on time, you will start being a better judge of how much time tasks really take and you will add some time to each estimate. I used to teach a college-level business class, and some days I would give a pop quiz during the first five minutes of class. The quiz would be easy but it would count for a significant percentage of a students overall grade. Some students would approach me after class to tell me that they had an excuse for lateness and that my surly pop quizzes were ruining their chance of getting into law school. I told the students that the quiz was my way of emphasizing that it doesnt matter how much you know about business, if youre late, you will undermine your success. Luckily, my editor does not quiz me, and luckily, I am not applying to law school.
Sunday, May 17, 2020
Resume Writing Online Services
Resume Writing Online ServicesResume writing online services can help anyone who needs to make a professional looking resume. Even if you are not the best writer, these services can help you by giving you the answers to all your questions about how to write a professional resume. By using online services, you can get the best information and make your resume look professional without the need to hire a ghostwriter.There are many things that are critical to make your resume stand out, but there are only a few key factors that can make or break your professional CV. Here are some of the major things that most people do not consider when they begin to make their resume:One of the most important aspect of resume writing is choosing the right job. Most people focus on the CV itself, but this should be one of the least of your concerns. While CV writing is important, getting the right job is far more important. A resume should only be submitted to jobs that match what you're looking for.An other aspect that many people overlook is the personal details of the job. Most people assume that the person that will read their resume should know a lot about the job, but this does not always work out that way. It is best to give the person a personal description of your role in the job.Writing a resume should always start off with an outline of what the job entails. All the information should be written with the title as the first element. This will make it easy for the reader to know what you're looking for in a resume.Once you have the overall outline, you can now begin to flesh out the content for the letter. You can create your resume based on the needs of the position, but if you're not sure, you can send a cover letter instead. This will allow you to know exactly what your writing style is going to be before you begin to write the letter.When you get to the end of the resume, you can see if you have gone over the same content too many times. In this case, you can move bac k to the beginning and go over all the information again. It is important to be able to separate the different sections of the resume. You can do this by highlighting and deleting the sections that you want to forget.Writing a resume can be difficult if you don't know what to write about. There are a few things that should be included in any resume so that it is not bland, but also so that it is professional looking.
Thursday, May 14, 2020
7 Ideas to Enhance Your Team-Building Efforts CareerMetis.com
7 Ideas to Enhance Your Team-Building Efforts Source â" DepositPhotos.comCorporate team building is designed to improve the morale of staff members, not make them groan and roll their eyes. Yet many activities designed to rally the troops together result in few improvements in overall productivity and job satisfaction. How can business leaders make practices designed to build camaraderie and cohesiveness more effective?Successful team-building efforts make staff members more personally dedicated to an organizationâs mission. Additionally, such activities allow coworkers to see each other as individual human beings instead of just seeing the job title on their name badge.Balancing recreation with corporate strategy can result in a happier and more productive workforce, so consider the factors below when youâre planning the next gathering of the office tribe.1) Plan evalThe first key to successful team building involves selecting activities intended to entertain as well as to share ideas and encourage interoffice collaboratio n. This step proves particularly critical when youâre planning to get the tribe together after hours.Team building activities need not drain corporate budgets. While popular tourist attractions often feature catered events for businesses with plenty in the expense account, in-office activitiesallow for mixing and minglingwithout the price tag.Strive to make such activities inclusive for those with disabilities as well. While exercises such as gathering a corporate team to run a marathon together do improve interpersonal relations among athletic employees, staff members suffering from chronic ailments may feel left out. Balance out such activities with those held in indoor recreational facilities that allow everyone to join in the fun.2) Listen to the TeamThe best team leaders know thatlistening to the needs and wants of othersresults in more pleasant interactions overall. Simply asking what the office squad wants lets them know their opinions deserve merit, which improves job sati sfaction and productivity.Design a simple employee survey about activities workers would enjoy, and make completing it into a friendly competitionby rewarding the first staff members to respond with a small prize, like a coffee shop gift card. Use online survey tools to reassure skeptical employees that their responses remain confidential.3) Make It EducationalHow much can anyone know about how the various cogs of an organization turn without asking those responsible for keeping them spinning? Those in managerial positions may be aware that their job entails evaluating the performance of others, yet how can they do so objectively without even knowingthe secret sauce Iris the receptionist usesto transform the office coffee from mud to magical bean water?Improve team-building efforts continually by regularly allowing employee speakers to share details about their positions in team meetings.evalDoing so increases staff engagement during the remainder of the session, as team members no longer feel lectured into compliance. Those in leadership roles who regularly see the big picture may find themselves shocked at how little workers under them know about how the entire corporate machine works.4) Donate Time to Help OthersBusinesses havelong partnered with charitieswhen it comes to making donations, but far fewer organizations utilize partnerships with non-profit organizations as opportunities to boost team morale. Combine team-building efforts with helping others by organizing events that showcase staff talent in a way that helps others.Dental offices canoffer free clinics for those lacking coverage or adequate funds to seek care. Contractors can devote time for staff members to assist in community revitalization efforts. Whatever the specialized skills team members possess, helping others makes them feel good â" and more connected to the people they work with daily.eval5) Celebrate Happy HourMingling with coworkers after hours at any location where alcohol is serv ed divides career experts, but most agree that occasional gatherings over happy hour improve team spirit. This plan need not mean letting Bob in marketing photocopy body parts best left unseen outside of intimate encounters after one too many martinis. Yet one or two adult beverages can go far in convincing the team that acolleague they deem standoffishis, in reality, simply introverted and shy.evalWhen youâre planning team events such as holiday parties, exercise caution in declaring a full open bar unless sketchy behavior raises few eyebrows, such as in industries like entertainment. But as a reasonable amount of fermented goodness invites greater camaraderie, consider giving party-going staff punch tickets usable for one or two cocktails. Be sure tooffer non-alcoholic beveragesfor designated drivers and those who prefer to abstain.6) Limit After-Hours RequirementsAssembling a team that works together like a high-tech synth blend in a luxury vehicle takes a lot of effort, and re quiring too much mandatory overtime can make the most well-oiled crew begin to rust. Employees have lives, families and recreational needs too. Even solo high-achievers require time to run to the market and mop their floors.Reserve the majority of overtime hours for when overwhelming workloads require them. Reserve after-hour team activities to once per quarter or less. Consideroffering incentives to attendversus docking a staff memberâs pay.7) Recognize Their Efforts and Empathize With Their SorrowsMany times, those in management look only at performance stats and call poor performers in for a talking-to about their lack of effort and the consequences of failing to improve. And when an employee has only worked at an organization for a short time, supervisors may begin to wonder if theyâre not up to the task and possibly should be terminated.But employees have lives outside of the workplace, and unless a manager has questioned the employee about otherfactors possibly contributin g to a sudden drop in performance metrics, she may be shooting herself in the foot by going directly to the handbook discipline policy rather than listening, especially if the staff member in question previously performed well.For example, an employee may be going through a divorce and facing the proposition of losing their home and children as well as their spouse. Maybe a worker has an ailing mother to care for and lives in a constant state of tension over going home from the office only to find she passed alone. Maybe a staff member is facing losing their home due to their spouse losing a job or because one of their side hustles didnât work out as well as hoped.Before making any firing or disciplinary decisions, take time to speak with the employee about what may be affecting their performance. It may turn out that instead of losing a valuable work that costs money to replace, simply allowing the staff member a bit of time off to grieve or deal with other personal matters may g et them back up to speed.Building a Team, Not Hiring MinionsThe highest achieving organizations know how to honor the contributions of all staff members. They also foster positive relationships between coworkers while respecting employee needs off the clock. Managers and supervisors can increase productivity by instituting team-building endeavors that make workers smile, not frown and shake their heads.
Saturday, May 9, 2020
Book review Nuts! - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog
Book review Nuts! - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Nuts!, Southwest Airlines crazy recipe for business and personal success is the story of Southwest Airlines. Lars Pind told me about this book, and I have to agree: Its a joy to read about a company that values freedom, creativity, people and, yes, love. If your driving principles are love and fun, can you still make a profit in todays harsh business world? Well, heres a few stats on Southwest: Theyre the only airline in America who have had a profit every year since 1973 Theyve grown from 3 planes and 250 employees in 1973 to 200 planes and 25.000 employees in 2002 They service twice as many customers pr. employee as any other airline They have never mass-fired employees They have the highest customer ratings So there! The book is both a history of Southwest and a walkthrough of their values and how they do business. And its a wonderful read. I found myself laughing out loud many times, eg. when Herb Kelleher, the charismatic CEO, arm-wrestled the CEO of another airline over the right to an advertising slogan. They thought itd be better than going to court over it, and turned it into a media event called malice in Dallas (and got a lot of free publicity out of it, by the way). My favourite section in the book, is about how Southwest party. They seem to have big and small parties all the time, and theyre not above throwing a christmas party in july or september, if thats the only time itll fit in the calendar. They use these celebrations to reinforce their culture, to keep their shared history alive, and to have fun. The message of the book must be that Soutwests amazing success doesnt come in spite of their focus on people, love and fun but because of it. Their culture has resulted directly in a company that people feel proud to work for. Where employees feel like famliy member. Where many employees are willing to walk that extra mile, and where astounding acts of generosity and kindness seem to be the order of the day. You can read the book simply as an entertaining story, but it is also full of concrete advice on how to achieve some of the same result. Its not in a how-to format, but its there. Soutwest shows us what business should be like, and the thought that Southwest are the exception and not the rule is a little sad. Lets change that! Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related
Friday, May 8, 2020
Visual CVs. Why you need one.
Visual CVs. Why you need one. When searching for a job, it is important to have prepared a well-written, professional looking resume that best displays your most significant qualifications, attributes, and characteristics that make you stand out to your prospective employer. You want the reader of your resume to be impressed and believe that their company needs someone like you for the position. Your resume is essentially your very first impression, so it should reflect you in a way that leaves a lasting effect on the person considering you for employment. A typical resume is a one to two page document typed up and listing such things as educational background, objective or career goal, qualifications and skills, and past experience and employment. However, with the way technology is growing and changing, people are beginning to turn to the idea of using virtual resumes; that is, resumes posted online for employers to view. Times are changing, and more pieces of information that were once typed or hand-written are now being displayed on websites and other formats. So, without further ado, let me introduce you to my new favorite resume tool, the VisualCV. Visual CVs are online website portfolios created by prospective employees and candidates wishing to display all there is to know about them to prospective employers. They are far more than the typical one-page resume, and can include a variety of unique features. While traditional resumes must be saved as a certain format and attached to an email or uploaded to send, you can simply send the web address of your VisualCV to be viewed by anyone you wish. There are virtually no limits to what you can add to your page. You can add audio or video of yourself, perhaps describing yourself and your characteristics and qualifications. You can also add graphs and links highlighting certain achievements youâve accomplished, or anything else you wish to showcase. The actual layout of your page has the look of a traditional resume, but with one side displaying high-tech add-ons to give your presentation a professional and new sort of flair. You can add presentations and even YouTube videos. If you are at a business lunch and someone asks you for your resume, you can simply give them the URL of your VisualCV and they can pull it up right there on their PDA! Are VisualCVs a good idea? Many are torn on the issue. It can add a bit of a competitive edge to your resume, showing your prospective employer a unique flair and determination, something new that they maybe havenât seen before. It can bring you and your skills to life in what can be called a 21st century virtual show and tell. It can also be useful in controlling who sees it and where you post it, as you can post the link to your Visual CV to job search websites or directly in emails, and it can be updated and edited easily with the touch of a button. However, some argue that VisualCVs arenât such a great idea. For one, itâs typically common that employers will take less than a minute or two to first scan resumes to weed out the ones they arenât interested in; therefore, it can be unlikely that theyâll take the time to actually watch your videos or look at your graphs. Also, speaking in front of a camera can make more of a negative impression than a positive, especially if you arenât well-versed in public speaking. Whether or not you choose to use a VisualCV is up to you, but it can be a positive idea if used correctly. If you donât have enough material or the skill to make it worth someoneâs while, then a traditional resume is probably for you.
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