Career Advice

For many of us, our LinkedIn accounts have become incredibly neglected over the years. Sure, we have one. Sure, we use it on occasion but we're certainly not falling all over it like we do Facebook and Twitter. Not only is this a mistake personally, but it doesn't do anything for your business or brand. LinkedIn has been proven again and again to deliver more and better qualified leads than any other social network. On top of that, the networking implications are huge. It's your direct rolodex to millions of others in the business community. It's time to give your profile an overhaul so that you can benefit from all that LinkedIn has to offer. 1.) Privacy Settings You'd think this would go without saying, but what's the point of having a LinkedIn profile if all of your information and updates are private? LinkedIn - at its core - is a site designed to share your qualifications and thoughts with others in the business world. Keep the information flowing. 2.) Complete Your … [Read more...] about 20 LinkedIn Tips

What should you be looking for when it comes to true employee incentives?  Quite often, employers will put forth incentives that might look good at first glance, but upon further review, just don’t warrant much enthusiasm.  Great employee incentives should follow a simple rule: in some form or another, they should make your life happier, healthier or more secure.  There are many steps that employers can take to make the lives of their employees better.  When it comes to employee incentives, the first idea that might come to your mind may not be safety.  But what greater incentive could you possibly want from an employer than workplace safety?  Having a safe and secure workplace should be at the top of the list when it comes to looking for true and meaningful incentives. Incentives, as the name indicates, should be something that motivates you as an employee to get excited about the prospect of working hard and staying on the job.  In short, … [Read more...] about True Employee Incentives

A few years ago, people devised strategies, and even wrote articles, for how they would use texting so they could “text in sick,” instead of calling in.  It was all the rage to drop hints the day before that you might not be feeling well, only to then follow up these claims with text messages that you didn’t feel up to working.  In fact, this strategy was even promoted as a way to take a long weekend.  My how things change and how quickly they can change! The world of calling in sick increasingly has nothing to do with the text message.  Let’s face it; the text message isn’t the most personable thing ever created.  In reality, no matter how much we may like text messaging, it makes the communication in question seem less important and more trivial than most other forms of communication. Recently, the dangers of texting has received more attention in regards to careers and career ambitions.  Texting is a tool that has to be used very carefully unless an employee wishes to risk a host … [Read more...] about Texting in Sick

Relocating an office is no easy feat especially when you have a lot of employees that’ll be a part of the relocation. However, proper planning can ensure that the process of relocation goes smoothly, even if there are more than 100 staff members who need to relocate. Here are some of the tips that will help you out: 1.  Inform the staff in advance You need to tell employees in advance when and where they’ll be moving as well as the change in work routine that’s expected from the relocation. It’s important to be honest with them about the relocation so they can mentally prepare for the move or find employment in another company (Of course you can offer them a raise or fringe benefits to keep them). Try to offer your assistance. Some of the things you can grant employees if their family life and budget will be affected are travel allowance, more holidays and parking space in the new location. 2.  Plan moving the necessary equipment Your employees may … [Read more...] about How to Make Employee Relocation a Smooth Process

Ultimately you will not be able to crawl into the minds of your employers or prospective employers, but there are some commonalities between employers that are generally pretty universal.  Even if an employer won’t admit it, every aspect of who you are factors into his or her overall impression of you.  How you act, dress, look, react and a long list of other variables are all data points that get factored into an employer’s opinion.  A large percentage of the time, employers are unaware of just how much they are judging you, as these inclinations are on a subconscious level.  However, you can be sure that these judgements can and will play a role in how you are perceived.  Something as simple as revealing your hobbies may be a way for you to impress your employer.  Hobbies that show you have interesting habits outside of the workplace.  After all, most employers want employees that are quick on their feet and well organized.  … [Read more...] about Hobbies That Usually Impress Employers

A career is more than a paycheck.  This simple but undeniable fact should be taken into account when one is contemplating a career switch or taking a new position.  There are many factors that go into having a happy career.  In this article, we will explore some of the intangibles that go along with looking for a job. Intangible Number One-The Resume Booster Is it a savvy move to take a job because it can boost your resume?  Most of the time and in most situations, the answer is definitely a big “yes!”  In general, any time that you can boost your resume, your long-term prospects and earnings will improve. Intangible Number Two-Commute Time Quite often people fail to think about commute time when they are weighing their career and job options.  Yet, a long commute is practically like having a part-time job.  Here is an important factor to keep in mind; many people have, in fact, been fired as a result of the fatigue that comes along with a … [Read more...] about Career Intangibles That You Should Consider When Looking for a Job

Even if you enjoy your job, its important to have a healthy work/life balance. The inability to detach from work can have a profound effect on your home life. Bringing the stresses of work home with you, or not being able to separate work and home life can result in you not finding any time and space to rest, relax and recover properly from work, or to enjoy your life away from your job. Working from home? Working from home can seem like the perfect job; no commuting, not having to tolerate annoying colleagues or bosses, avoiding the office politics, having your whole kitchen and contents available to you for your lunch but working from home can also make it difficult to separate work from home life, making detaching from work related tasks more difficult. Anyone who successfully works from home will tell you that the best way to be able to detach from work is to create a physical and psychological divide between work and home life. Creating an office, or space in your house, an area … [Read more...] about How to Detach from Work

As a do-it-yourself marketer, your life is often spent on the go, networking and building new relationships. You rush from appointment to appointment in your car, leveraging your wares to businesses and communities, sometimes without a chance to sit and breathe for extended periods of time. An increasing number of small businesses and individuals are turning to a new form of office environment to sell their services. In short, why not make the office your own marketing tool? Google Space It works for Google. If you saw the recent release "The Internship", with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, Google is essentially one gigantic office where you don't even have to leave. Snacks and beverages are provided.  Areas to recharge your batteries can be found, like little nooks where you can lie down and relax. Maybe you can even take a small nap. Why not? It might be a little bit of company time, but Google wants you to be refreshed so you can continue working in an office setting. All the … [Read more...] about Utilizing Your Office Space and Public Space For Marketing Endeavors

We spend a lot of time at work, and our co-workers, for better or for worse, are people whom we spend a lot of time with. That being the case, you should try to do your best to not annoy them or put them in an awkward situation; you may need their help one day. As you navigate through the world of office etiquette, here are some general topics and questions to avoid. Why Are You So Dressed Up Today? This may sound like a perfectly harmless question, but it actually sounds like you’re prying. The first thought that comes to mind is that they have a job interview.  If that is the case, it’s really none of your business.  They may have a date or maybe they were just in the mood to wear their power suit on that day. Also, be cautious of giving compliments on someone’s clothing.  A compliment, while innocent and genuine in nature, may not be received as such. It may be interpreted as a form of sexual harassment. Bottom line: How someone dresses, on any given day, is none of your … [Read more...] about Questions to Never Ask Your Coworker