You have that Secret Santa or Yankee Swap coming up. Bonnie the receptionist is on your list. Her one discerning characteristic is her ability to always be out of step with the office temperature. Especially in the winter. A desk heater can make the perfect Christmas gift for a chilly colleague. You can’t control the thermostat. That may be under lock and key, held only by your tyrannical manager. And you can’t wear your favorite sweater, due to a dress code or the fact that your favorite sweater is the ugly Christmas one you wear to holiday parties every year. That’s why a desk heater might be the best solution. … [Read more...] about Christmas Gift Ideas for Coworkers: A Desk Heater
Archives for November 2014
Feel Overqualified for a Job? How to Adjust Your Resume
It's one thing to receive a job application rejection letter because you don't possess the skills and/or experience for the open position. It's quite another thing for a prospective employer to reject your resume because you're overqualified. The job market is full of highly qualified applicants and many of the applicants attempt to secure employment for positions that do not come close to matching their levels of expertise. If you feel overqualified for a job, you need to learn how to adjust your resume to match the level of expertise required for the open position. Education Should Be Elementary You certainly don't want to promote the education section of your resume by writing "I graduated 6th grade," but you do want to minimize educational accomplishments if you feel overqualified for a job and need to adjust your resume. Let's assume you just graduated college and the tight job market has you changing your entry-level employment goal of working as an accountant for a large … [Read more...] about Feel Overqualified for a Job? How to Adjust Your Resume
Foodservice Careers Can Pay Off
This post brought to you by National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation . The content and opinions expressed below are that of Jobacle. The popular notions of dead end fast food jobs and churn and burn restaurants that power through employees are mythical. Careers in food service can be lucrative, long-lasting and fulfilling. Just ask the scores of restaurant company CEOs and executives that got their start washing dishes or bussing tables. … [Read more...] about Foodservice Careers Can Pay Off
THE MOST COMMON RESUME MISTAKES FOR 2015
Finding a job in this economy is like trying to find a needle in the proverbial haystack. You can uncover as much hay as you want, but the primo job remains as elusive as ever. Although finding the best job for you is difficult, it becomes virtually impossible when you make the most common resume mistakes. With 2015 fast approaching, you need to learn which of the resume mistakes shoot you in your job searching feet. Screwing up the Basics What happens when a prospective employer reads a resume riddled with spelling errors, grammatical mistakes, and typo issues? The employer either uses your resume to start a campfire or makes a paper airplane out of it for the amusement of fellow workers who know how to craft professional resumes. You can have all of the qualifications in the world, but you do not get your feet in the door when you screw up the basics of spelling and grammar. Of all the resume mistakes, screwing up the basics has the most negative impact on your job prospects. … [Read more...] about THE MOST COMMON RESUME MISTAKES FOR 2015
Online Job Search and Networking: Are Your Profiles Safe?
Landing a job these days requires more than an impressive cover letter and resume. Long gone are the days when you search the local newspaper and mail in your applications. Technology has afforded employers with the ability to post job openings and even screen applicants exclusively online, while job seekers can now apply online and post pertinent information about their career development. With approximately 30-60% of all jobs being filled through networking, job seekers must think outside of the box to get noticed. In fact, the modern job seeker must have the ability to manage multiple profiles as they network with potential employers and apply for job openings. Today, applying for a job means managing profiles for job sites such as Careerbuilder and Indeed as well as monitoring social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. … [Read more...] about Online Job Search and Networking: Are Your Profiles Safe?
Secret Santa Ideas and Rules
If your office has a holiday gift exchange, you’ll want to check out these Secret Santa ideas for games and rules! The holidays are supposed to be a time of festive celebration. Well, how festive is it when Uncle Bob imbibes one too many hot toddies and begins to tell lewd stories from his a army days at an office holiday party. What about the sticker shock caused by the electric bill issued for the first month of running your Christmas light display? The holidays present a smorgasbord of stressful events, but perhaps no other event causes more consternation than secret Santa gift exchanges. From inappropriate gifts to gifts that make you look like a penny pincher, secret Santa gift exchanges can go awry faster than Frosty the Snowman melting under the Miami sun. However, you can control your office secret Santa gift exchange by learning about different ways to hold the gift exchanges. Win the Secret Santa Lottery The Secret Santa lottery takes much of the stress out of office gift … [Read more...] about Secret Santa Ideas and Rules
PASSED OVER FOR PROMOTION: HOW TO COPE
The time of the year that you dread the most has arrived. You get to sweat through a performance review to determine if your performance is worthy of a promotion. The numbers appear to be in your favor, but your boss decides to give the promotion to a fellow employee that you feel deserves nothing more than janitor duty. Once again, your company has you passed over for promotion. The question is what are you going to do about it? How are you going to cope with another slap in the face? Maintain Your Composure One of the worst behaviors employees exhibit when passed over for promotion is to throw a seemingly appropriate fit. However, throwing an Oscar worthy tantrum only brings you down in the eyes of your managers and co-workers. Even if the decision to pass you over for promotion appears unfair, you need to take the high road and stay calm. Demonstrative venting to your peers only poisons the workplace and lowers morale. … [Read more...] about PASSED OVER FOR PROMOTION: HOW TO COPE
Restaurant Industry: Do the Math
This post brought to you by National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation . The content and opinions expressed below are that of Jobacle. Wouldn’t it be nice to start a job and get a raise within six months of starting? Entry-level restaurant employees experience just that! Despite the country’s economic woes of the past few years, approximately 70% of managers and shift/crew supervisors within the restaurant industry have received a raise within the past year. That’s more than most workers can claim. … [Read more...] about Restaurant Industry: Do the Math
Changing Jobs After 40
There are few things worse than staying in a job when you know it’s time to leave. Unfortunately, with today’s job market, finding another job can be very difficult. Although the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the unemployment rate at 5.9 percent as of September 2014, but experts say that number is misleading because certain types of unemployment go underreported. For example, those official statistics don’t take into account people who have stopped actively seeking work, also known as discouraged workers – the ranks of which are steadily increasing. They also do not account for the underemployed and “downwardly mobile” – individuals who are employed, but only part-time or at pay rates far below what they were originally earning due to pay cuts or by changing jobs. … [Read more...] about Changing Jobs After 40
KEYS TO GETTING AHEAD AT WORK
The highly competitive job market means workers must find ways to ensure long-term employment stability. If you haven’t noticed, jobs are getting more and more scarce with each passing year. To keep your career moving upward, instead of spiraling into a freefall, you need to understand the keys to getting ahead at work. Some of the keys that you won’t use include backstabbing other employees, kissing up to your boss, and taking credit when credit is not due. The keys to getting ahead at work involve time-tested strategies that help you stand out from the crowded workplace. … [Read more...] about KEYS TO GETTING AHEAD AT WORK