Career Advice

Annual employee performance appraisals are an important management tool that can impact future work assignments, development, compensation and even opportunities for promotion. Yet it seems that most employees play a passive role in them. They just sit back and let their managers dictate their ratings, feedback, goals and development plans. Here are 4 reasons why you should play an active role in the process by writing a self-appraisal first.1.It Gets You Engaged in the Performance Appraisal Process and Your CareerEven if self-appraisals aren't an official part of your employee appraisal process, by writing your own self-appraisal, you show initiative and engagement in your appraisal and your career. Rather than simply being the "recipient" of feedback from your manager, writing a self-appraisal gives you a voice and can inform or shape your performance appraisal ratings. It also gets you actively thinking about what you did well, and what you can improve. A little self-reflection is … [Read more...] about 4 Reasons Why You Should Write a Self-Appraisal

Most people who work in an office, on a team or in a setting with co-workers have the wrong idea about workplace relationships. Too many people have a "get in and get out" mentality; punching in, doing your job and punching out for the day is not the only way to have a successful work life. In fact, workplace friendships can become long-lasting relationships if you play your cards right. Here are 10 tips on how to establish good friendships at work: 1.  Be Yourself - If you are trying to make friends in the workplace, you have to be yourself. Pretending to be someone that you are not will take you nowhere. You do not have to agree with everything that your co-workers say, your opinions can vary; in fact, a difference in opinion can lead to healthy conversations and debates that can further a friendship. 2. Be Open and Honest- It is true that you will bond quickly with people that you have shared interests with, but do not start off a new friendship by being dishonest. Let your … [Read more...] about 10 Ways to Make Friends at Work

What percentage of your work style would be called "control freak?" Not something that you find on a job description. But admit it, there’s at least a bit of control freak in all of us. The word “controlling” has a negative connotation, but a lot of people with that label are simply take-charge types who get the job done. The others are, well, control freaks.An article in the Wall Street Journal, “She Talks a Lot, He Listens a Little” got me thinking about controlling behaviors. She discusses communication in personal relationships, but you can apply it to business, too. She makes a point when describing the talker vs. the non-talker - the non-talker has control over any conversation; when one party is done listening, the conversation is over.Think about how many times when someone has presented an idea, someone has dismissed it, either by “tabling” it for later or just moving on through the agenda. If this is your style or you’re the … [Read more...] about The Illusion of Control at Work

Trying to concentrate in a noisy environment can be a very difficult task. Whether it’s chatty co-workers, loud machine noises, or a neighbor who insists on having long conference calls on speaker phone, noisy distractions can have a significant negative effect on your productivity. However, there are some simple methods that can help you deal with the noise and focus on your work. #1. White Noise Machine - A white noise machine generates a sound that is random but soothing like running water or wind. It is capable of blocking out distracting noises. Use of a white noise machine is also dependent on the policies of your office. Another option that can produce a similar effect is to run a small fan on your desktop. If the fan is noisy enough, it can also block out distracting noises. The best one on the planet is... #2. Listen to Music - Depending on the policies of your office, you may be able to listen to music with headphones while you are working. If this is the case, then … [Read more...] about Noisy Office? 10 Tips to Help You Cope

This is the first holiday season I’m spending alone. Well, I did get stuck at college one time, but the stranded all hung out together. I won’t bore you with gory details; I’m just not up for it this year. I’m opting to hang with the cat.I don’t mean to step on any religion’s toes – you are free to observe, celebrate or whatever. But I won’t be there. Sure, I’ll spend some time with my mother around Christmas, but for the most part, I’ll be doing the “Anti-Holidays.”So here are some of my Anti-Holiday survival (Stress-Busters and Holiday Survival Guide) plans:·         Watch movies - No, no holiday-themed ones. I’m thinking more like “The Fast and the Furious.” Now, I’m not a gearhead, but I do like nice cars. Plus it’s just so right to make fun of Vin Diesel.·         Food – No … [Read more...] about The “Anti-Holidays” Survival Guide

Communication skills are vital to our careers, yet we don’t often look for opportunities to improve them. While dealing with salespeople can be stressful—we often see them as a drain on our bank account—that interaction can also serve as a chance to sharpen our negotiation skills. And learning to negotiate is essential no matter what career we’re striving for.Here are a few ways to improve your communication skills the next time you deal with a salesperson:1. Ask a ridiculous question.Whoever said there are no stupid questions was a fool. If you’ve ever asked a silly question, you know what it feels like to have blood rush to your face. Yet we can’t avoid asking silly questions once in a while; we need the answers no matter how much it hurts. Asking whatever questions come to your mind, regardless of how silly they seem, will help you feel comfortable asking that important question at work.2. Negotiate the price.There are two types of people in this … [Read more...] about 7 Ways to Use Salespeople to Advance Your Career

In my job as a Deputy Sheriff, confidence can mean the difference between going home safely and being in a potentially deadly situation.  As a female officer who stands 5’4” and weighs 130 pounds, I am not a physically imposing person.  However, the people I work with are often as much as a foot taller than I am and many pounds heavier.  I work in a jail, and my typical work day finds me in a room alone with as many as 96 inmates who have charges ranging from traffic offenses to murder.  Yet as part of my job, I am required to keep these individual safe from themselves and others and to enforce rules that may seem petty, such as not allowing inmates to wear the legs of their uniforms rolled up to the knee.  The key to staying safe and keeping my community safe is confidence.  While your job may not include people who want to (literally) kill you, chances are you could benefit by being more confident at work. The first tip I would give is to … [Read more...] about How to Be Confident at Work

In the old days, the answer to the question, "how long should I stay at my company?" was basically "forever."  Today it is a much different question and answer.  And with the economy still shaky, it is important to really think this through.   Because today with so many people out of work your career history will get a lot more scrutiny.  And if your resume suggests “instability” or “poor judgment”, you become more of a risk to hiring managers -- especially when compared to someone with longer stints at fewer jobs. Of course that’s not the case with everyone, but “job hopping” is still a resume killer for many recruiters and hiring managers.  There will always be a crowd that will never forgive your career spontaneity. Interestingly though, in the next few years, this question of “how long should I stay” will become highly relevant for the working population.  At some point the focus will shift from the … [Read more...] about Quiz: How Long Should I Stay At My Company?

Okay, if you read that headline and thought, “Oooh, holiday tasties and pretties, I’m so there...,” that’s not the only office food I’m talking about. Imagine if you will that there might actually be room on the conference room table for something nutritious.  No, I’m really serious. I am not a member of the food police; we all have enough of those folks in our lives. Maybe it’s your mother, hubby or your carb-fearing pal’s voice in your ear, “Are you really going to eat THAT?” I work in a home office, but I’m just as guilty as cube folks when it comes to grabbing a non-nutritious substance to eat at the desk. I’m also light-years from being a nutrition expert, but if your office’s eating habits are composed solely of the sugar, fat and caffeine food groups, maybe it’s time to mix it up. 1.      Almonds – No, not those smoked salty things. Try the plain, roasted ones. Nuts are not the new rice cakes, but they are good for you. 2.      Low-fat string cheese – I don’t know where … [Read more...] about 10 Foods to Add to Your Office "Diet"

Many of us are familiar with the presence of self-help books both in the bookstores and online. These books provide us with information that is helpful for cultivating professional and individual growth. Among these are books geared toward helping you improve your resume. Some of these simply discuss the principles that make up a good resume. Others offer distinctive perks, such as that of the infamous “one-hour resume.”The Project TriangleLet’s relate the one-hour resume to business. Consider the project triangle. At each corner are the principles of “time,” “cost” and “quality.” You cannot accomplish one corner perfectly in a project without sacrificing parts of the other two corners. When working on any business project, you have to come to terms with this sad truth. You never have enough time to turn out the very best quality product because of the constraints of cost. It becomes a simple matter of balance.A one-hour resume … [Read more...] about The Fallacy of the One-Hour Resume