Career Advice

There are many effective ways to get a pay raise increase.  People frequently have a good deal of fear and apprehension regarding the topic of getting more money in the workplace.  But with the right approach, you can get that raise you want and still sleep soundly at night. 1. Make the Right Preparations Waking up one morning and deciding that you will go after a pay raise later that day can be risky business.  Like so many large undertakings in life, preparation is essential.  This means that you absolutely must formulate a strategy well in advance.  Successfully landing the pay increase you are seeking means planning. 2. Highlight Your Productivity Do you feel that you are productive?  Do you feel as though others realize just how much you are getting done each and every day?  Most importantly, does your boss know how productive you are?  If your employer doesn’t understand or notice your level of contribution in the workplace, then you … [Read more...] about 5 Savvy Ways to Get a Pay Raise Increase

While plenty of people move to a new city as the result of a change in their employment, there are lots of others who feel compelled to move without having a new job lined up. Finding work in your own town can be difficult, and when you’re looking for work in a far-off location, you might find yourself at a disadvantage. Consider putting the following tips to use to make your job search as easy as possible. Consider a Temporary Address Many employers are reluctant to give priority to candidates who aren’t already located in the area. You can avoid this entirely by setting up a temporary address with Kinko’s, or even the UPS store. They’re typically inexpensive, and offer mail-forwarding services. If you’re on a budget that doesn’t allow for this expense, you could always consider using a friends address until you get the job and move into your new place. Research Your New Town in Advance By spending a bit of time researching the area you’re moving to, you’ll give yourself an … [Read more...] about Job Hunting Tips for Your New Town

The most important people in your business are your employees. Why? Their happiness does two things: gauges your success and, assuming that they respect you and your mission, grows your business. By having faith in your people and giving them the autonomy to complete their duties without micro-managing, they will feel that respect and offer it right back to you. Foster the People Employees need to feel special. For the most part, they want to grow and develop. There is a world of ideas, ones you have never thought of, right in front of your eyes. The faces you see everyday want to have their voices heard. Sometimes what they say could be your next big break. To have their support, you must give them a culture of purpose and hope. They, of all people, must trust and believe in your brand ... your mission. Keep in constant dialogue with them. Involve them in the growth. Allow them to shine. Recognize their accomplishments. By fostering your people, they will feel wanted and needed. If … [Read more...] about Breeding Happy Brand Ambassadors In Your Office

Commuting to work is a necessity for anyone not fortunate enough to work from home. Commuting can often be stressful and tiring start and end to the working day and might feel like a waste of valuable time that could be used in better ways. However, there are things you can do to make the most of this part of your day that can have a positive impact on your work.Get on Your Bike Cycling is a great way of changing your commute to improve your work. Not only will you save money and improve your health, you will arrive invigorated and alive, shrugging off the sleepiness, with your brain being fed with pumping oxygenated blood. And as your fitness and health improve, so will your confidence and see esteem, which you will carry with you into the workplace. Cycling home will also help remove the stresses of the day, making for a more relaxed evening and a better sleep,leading to another great start to the next day. Cycling will also save on the cost of commuting, taking off a significant … [Read more...] about Using Your Commute to Improve Your Work

Maybe you want to be more popular at work to get ahead in your career, or maybe you want to enjoy your working day more? You might see that you could have more rewarding relationships with your work colleagues by being more popular. For some people, being popular comes easy, for others a little work is needed to make the changes. These are some ideas that can increase your popularity:1. Don't Try Too Hard. If you are overly fake not only will you find being this way unsustainable but people will read through you. Aim for a more popular version of yourself.2. Like Yourself. Being comfortable with who you are makes you more confident, which is an attractive quality. Negativity from having a low opinion of yourself can rub of onto others, which can tend to cause them to avoid you. Some self-deprecation can be a good thing in moderation and when done in a humorous manner. Taking yourself too seriously is not an attractive quality and can stop you being fun to be around.3. Be Generous. … [Read more...] about 7 Ways to Become More Popular at Work

When work becomes overwhelming and the tasks are piling up, stress can kick in. A little stress can be a good thing, making you focus more clearly and reducing the chances of being bored. However, when stress persists long term or increases to higher levels it can become detrimental to your work. Rather than helping, the increased level of stress then makes the tasks even more difficult to manage. Here are some easy tips to try when the stress gets too much:Write things down. This helps to keep you organised, freeing your mind to concentrate on one task at a time without the worry of forgetting something. Visualizing your outstanding jobs on paper helps put them in context, making them appear more manageable.Keep your work area tidy and clutter free. A mess around you will not make for a calm environment. The clutter can be distracting, make it more difficult to find things, and reduce the amount of calming space you have around you.Have a stretch. Stress leads to tense muscles and … [Read more...] about Reducing Your Stress Levels in the Workplace

Marketing has always been about rules/principles. Because at the end of the day, how smart your marketing is depends on how well your understand some of its basic rules. Now, when we talk about rules, one rule that stands out today in the marketing world is the 80/20 rule or the Pareto’s principle. Before you get confused, the 80/20 rule is nothing new and businesses have been applying it in their marketing knowingly or unknowingly. So what does the rule say? It’s simple: 80 percent of your results  come from 20 percent of your efforts. In marketing terms this means that 80 percent of your sales result from 20 percent of your marketing/advertising efforts. Or 80 percent of your business is generated from 20 percent of your customers. Applying the 80/20 rule can take our online or offline business places. It can not only save you money but also help you increase your profits in the long run by giving your business more leverage and your marketing a more focused direction. Begin by … [Read more...] about 80-20 Marketing, Redefined

Working part time is a way many people achieve a better work/life balance, allowing time to walk the children to school, spend more time with loved ones, pursue hobbies/ interests or do volunteer work. It's also a great way to get more from your job. Reducing your hours can mean enjoying the job more when you are there. Work will be less tiring, there will be less exposure to office politics, and pursuing others things in your free time should make you a happier person, which you will carry with you when you are at your job. Having a job that's part time, gives you the freedom to pursue other choices which helps you to value the job more, compared to one where you spend much of your weekly life there.So what steps can be taken to make a move to part time hours possible?At Work:If part time is a viable option where you work, ask for a pay rise. The increased income may in itself make reducing your hours financially viable. If not, maybe look for a new job that offers part time … [Read more...] about How to Save Money To Go Part-Time

What Are Soft Skills? A little over a decade ago, social psychologist Dr. Daniel Goleman wrote a bestselling book that turned how organizations evaluated their employees upside down. "Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ" established an entirely new means of evaluation and became a popular psychology bestseller. Now, in addition to IQ, standardized tests such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and school grades, individuals could be evaluated for their emotional intelligence. "Soft skills" is a casual reference to the bulky term "emotional intelligence," often shortened to simply EI. Divided into two types—ability emotional intelligence and trait emotional intelligence—emotional intelligence can be defined as the ability to identify, assess and control the emotions of oneself, others and groups. Are Soft Skills Important to Business? According to Arlene Sota's article, "Soft Skills Are Key to All Success," "Studies have shown [that] individuals who scored … [Read more...] about Soft Skills for Hard Times

So you finally graduated college and have the coveted degree you need to find a job. But somehow after those four long years of school, your resumé just looks empty. You can't get a job without experience and you can't get experience without a job—and so begins the endless cycle of job hunting. Although this situation might seem hopeless, there's a way to use other experience to your advantage. Volunteer work is a great way to give back to the community, while also developing experience in your field. Careful, though: not all of your volunteer experience will be a great fit for your resume. The following tips and guidelines can help you discern between what's appropriate and what you might want to leave out. Ask Yourself, "So What?" So you spent five years in Africa building wells so the locals there could have access to clean water. So what? This experience undoubtedly had a major influence on your life and your character, but is it really relevant to the resumé you'll be sending … [Read more...] about Is Your Volunteer Experience Resumé-Worthy?