Career Advice

Whether you’re a freelance writer or designer, being on top of your professional game at all times is a must. By continually pushing your creative limits and by giving everything on each project, you’re more likely to remain relevant in the competitive freelance industry. In trying to ever-expand your creative capacity, you may regularly consider attending conferences designed for creative professionals. Conferences can be great places to meet other freelancers and to connect with potential clients. These events can also develop your skills and expand your creative exposure. Unfortunately, they can also be expensive. If you have a limited freelancing budget, the following are four ways to decide if conferences are really necessary for you to attend. Do Your Research While in a creative slump, you may be tempted to register for and attend a freelance conference on a whim. Unfortunately, that type of impulse decision making will bring many expenses including registration fees, hotel … [Read more...] about Are Conferences Really Necessary for Freelancers to Attend?

In your eagerness to be liked at a new job, you’ll likely find every possible coworker on Facebook and befriend them. At first, you’ll learn a lot from each coworker’s profile - viewing their photos, browsing their past posts and reviewing their overall online demeanors. With most coworkers, your online relationships will likely remain civil, even subdued, with each silently stalking the updates of the other. However, if your in-office relationship with a coworker takes a negative turn, you may begin feeling the effects online. Often, coworkers view online conversations as outside the workplace realm and, as such, begin posting harassing comments towards those they don’t like in the office. Here are four ways to deal with the situation if you’ve recently been targeted by a coworker’s harassing comments on Facebook or other social networks. Take Screenshots The first harassing online comment you receive from a coworker will likely be followed by uncertainty, worry and anger. Whether … [Read more...] about How to Deal With a Harassing Coworker on Facebook

It finally happened - after months and months of scouring the web looking for jobs, fixing up your résumé until every last comma was in place, and applying to dozens of jobs of every type available, you finally got a dream job! But before you settle into your shiny new desk and relax in your brand new office chair, here are some things to know about your first day that you definitely shouldn't ignore. 1. Dress to Impress You know what they say: "shoes complete an outfit." On your first day however, you really need a sharp outfit and some sharp shoes to boot. This will be your first time interacting with the people you will spend the majority of your time with for the next (hopefully) long time, and you need to look great to make the best impression. That's why the weekend before, go out and buy some stellar new threads. You'll look confident, feel confident, and there's no way anyone will mistake that you mean business. 2. Prepare Questions You probably don't know anything yet. … [Read more...] about 4 Things You Need To Know On Your First Day of Work

Being organized helps us to feel calmer and more in control. Working smarter and not harder makes sense. If you feel that you could do with getting more organized at work, here are a few tried and tested tips for you: 1. Use a Diary I haven’t always been a fan of using a diary, but I am now a convert! Rather than trying to keep and remember everything in your head, make it easy for yourself and use a diary. There are many different methods you can use; an old fashioned paper diary, a calendar on your PC or laptop or your phone’s scheduler. For me, a paper diary is easiest as I don’t have to turn it on like a laptop to use it. See what works best for you. Look at how you work and run your day to day life and use a method that is the easiest for you as that will increase the chances of keeping the habit up. Whatever method you decide on, it is important to get in the habit of using it each day.  2. Plan Your Day    Once you have a diary or … [Read more...] about How to Get Organized at Work

As the Internet has become a bigger part of everyone's life, it has emerged as a premier tool for job hunting. When you need a job, it makes sense to apply for openings online and to check out the online job boards. At the same time, finding a job has become a lot more complex than just checking out some online classified ads. With so much information available online, you now have to be able to proactively manage your reputation as well. Protect Your Reputation When you are in the job market, it is important to make sure that you go out and actively search for information about yourself online. Search for your name on the major search engines and see what turns up. There's a good chance that some of your social networking profiles will appear. Because of the availability of social networking profiles, it's important to make sure that you protect your reputation online and get rid of anything on your profiles that could cost you a job. For example, those pictures of you and your … [Read more...] about Optimizing Yourself for Employment

1. Make Sure You Take Your Break Pretty obvious, but one that we've all been guilty of not doing at one time or another I'm sure! Get in the habit of taking your break. There's always more that can be done, but by actually taking a break you are much more likely to be efficient when you return.2. Eat Healthily It can be tempting to quickly eat a sandwich or whatever is easiest or graze on snack foods throughout the day whilst at work, but taking the time to plan a healthy lunch is important for your health. Be proactive and plan what suits your tastes, health and budget and ensure you take time to eat well during your workday. 3. Nap Not getting enough sleep? Getting enough sleep, but know you benefit from a nap? Either way, napping is a win-win. I know it isn't always easy to find somewhere to nap when you're at work, but with a little creativity there is often somewhere you can find. I used to take a nap in my car when I worked in my last office job. I would drive to a quiet road … [Read more...] about 5 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Lunch Break

We all need a job not just to earn for a living.  Our job provides us with plenty of opportunities to grow both personally and professionally.  However, some people just do not seem to find joy in their current job. In fact, they hate every aspect of their job that they always need to drag themselves to work every morning.  Since leaving one’s job is not a better option in these trying times, an individual must learn to love his job.  Otherwise, he can just choose to leave it and spend several penniless days while waiting for a new “lovable” job to arrive.  Learn to love your job by doing the following tips: Find a good reason to become motivated each morning. Even if you do not love your job you really need to find at least one good reason to go to work each day. Without your current job, you will never be able to buy the things that you need.  Your job makes you feel useful even if you do not like what you are doing. Most of all, without your job, you will never be able to pay your … [Read more...] about Learning to LOVE the Job You HATE

Let’s face it, some workdays are more challenging than others. From sleeping through an alarm to waking with a negative outlook, some days, you’d likely rather call in sick than deal with coworkers. However, since going to work is the necessary evil for earning a paycheck, you must learn how to start your workdays off in the best manner to survive the many years you’ll still be punching the time clock. Here are five steps to wake on the bright side of your workday. Wake Early While it might be tempting to hit the snooze button a few times before waking each workday, this leaves you at the risk of running behind before the day has even begun. Rather than sleeping in, wake early and take a little more time in preparing for the day. From getting in a quick workout to savoring a hot breakfast, this added time will leave you feeling refreshed when you enter the office. Eat Breakfast Breakfast is for champions and you want to be a champion at work, don’t you? Skipping breakfast leaves … [Read more...] about 5 Steps to Starting Each Workday Right

Does your heart skip a beat whenever you think about public speaking? We’re not all naturals at it, but as an entrepreneur you have to hone your public speaking skills. You’ll often find yourself in front of people delivering a speech, whether it’s in front of investors, your employees, or at a conference. Here are some tips that will help you become a better public speaker. Know Your Stuff The worst thing you can do is go into a speech unprepared. It’s not enough to write out what you’re going to say ahead of time. You have to be an expert at what you’re talking about. You have to know your subject matter inside and out, and be able to answer any questions anyone might have about it. If you don’t have in-depth knowledge on the topic, it will show, and you won’t be able to recover easily if you stumble or forget a part of your speech. Know Your Audience You should also find out as much as you can about your audience beforehand. If you’re speaking to a small group of representatives … [Read more...] about Tips for Becoming a Better Public Speaker