Career Advice

The environment that you work in makes a difference not only to the quality of your work but also to your overall mental and physical wellbeing. It is worth taking the time to create the best work environment that you can. Here are some ways in which could help you to create and maintain a positive work environment. Keep Your Desk Clean and Clutter Free Keeping your desk clean and clutter free is a simple but effective way to take pride in where you work and keep it as an inspiring place to be. You could set aside five minutes at the end of each day to clear and clean your desk ready for the next day. Digitally Declutter Clutter doesn’t have to be physical; the digital clutter we accumulate can also weigh us down.  Clearing out your digital clutter regularly is a good habit to get into and stops the number of digital files you have saved getting out of control. In turn, this also reduces the need for more and more storage space! You could create a reminder on your … [Read more...] about Creating and Maintaining a Positive Work Space

Do you ever find yourself getting down in the dumps and you’re not sure how you got there? Perhaps you found yourself wishing and thinking if only you had a better job, house, car, family, and the list goes on and on. The truth is, we all goes through times of wishing that life was better, however, how does wishing create a life we only imagined having? Instead of spending your time wishing that life’s current situations were better, try reframing your thoughts. A lot of the time our thoughts influence our day to day activity and how we respond to situations and people. Changing your thoughts will absolutely change your life. Let’s look at a few simple ways that you can retrain your mind to look for the good in life and stay positive at the same time. Every time you find yourself thinking about something negative in your mind, question it. Ask yourself: is this really beneficial to my time? Try thinking of ways that you can switch around your thoughts to instead look at your current … [Read more...] about How Positivity Can Change Your Outlook at Work

Work is crazy. Just about all of us have stressful jobs. Lunch is often overlooked or had at our desks in the midst of the massive paper mountains and keyboard. It is important to give your body and mind a break. Without downtime, our minds will not function properly and we will become exhausted and hence, begin falling behind in our work. Even the most workaholic types should understand that breaks equal efficiency. Without focus and efficiency, our work will suffer and in turn, we will suffer the wraths of the evil bosses. Clear Your Mind Most corporations require a 15 minute break for every 2 or 3 hours worked and an 8 hour shift requires a 30 minute lunch break at the bare minimum. There is a reason most places embrace this rule. What we do during this time is crucial to our productivity. If you find that you are sitting in the break room frantically shoving oatmeal in your face without even taking time to chew it while you talk frantically on your phone or to your coworkers, … [Read more...] about Take Your Lunch: How Breaks Keep Us from Breaking Down

The writing is on the wall: You’re about to get fired.Once the wheels are in motion, it's often hard to get momentum back on your side. The best thing to do is to start pursuing other work options. However, if you feel strongly about staying with the organization, you can employ several strategies to attempt to hold onto your employment status. Just keep in mind that it’s a long shot.First, you want to be sure your intuition is correct and you’re actually on the chopping block. Make sure paranoia hasn't seeped in, and assess the situation by talking it through with people who understand how the company works. You should also seek advice from a neutral third party. This can be a career coach, therapist, or even a stranger on a message board.If you’re still convinced you’re going to get fired, here’s what to do:Sneak attack. Catch your boss off guard and request an impromptu job assessment. Document the main points you discussed in a follow-up email so … [Read more...] about Getting Fired? Try Stalling Your Employer

Quitting your job and changing career may seem like a daunting task, but that doesn't mean it is impossible. You want a change, but where do you start? Here are a few ideas to help you make the change: Don’t Settle It is possible to change careers at any stage of life though, it might take some work. Don’t settle for your current career if you do not enjoy it or if it is not what you want to do with your life anymore. No job is perfect all the time, but if you find yourself dreaming about a new job regularly, it could be time for a career change. Try to cacth yourself if you are feeling resigned about making the change and remind yourself regularly that it is possible. Reading articles about people who have changed careers or done something similar can be good inspirational fuel to remind you of where you want to go next. Identify Areas of Interest Start noticing what you are interested in and naturally drawn to. Don’t worry initially about whether or not … [Read more...] about Make That Career Change!

One of the biggest mistakes any employee could ever make is underestimating the power of social networking sites. There is a reason why most employers ban these sites while employees are in the office, and that’s because employees not only waste time on these sites, but also tend to post things they shouldn’t. Companies have fired employees or overlooked job applicants due to the content of their social networking profiles making the management of these sites more important than ever. Reputation Management isn’t just for large companies, it’s for individuals as well, especially those wishing to maintain or secure employment. If you are employed and hold accounts on a few social networking sites, there are a few things you should consider doing to save your personal brand. Such things include: Watching What You Say Watching what you say on Facebook or Twitter doesn’t just mean avoiding proclaiming your hatred for your boss or lamenting that you wish you had another job, it means … [Read more...] about Saving Face to Save Your Job

Do you find yourself reaching for an energy drink around 4 p.m. on a work day? Or are you just revving up for your day’s work? Finding your peak work hours is a great way to boost your productivity. We usually do know our own energy body/mind rhythms of energy, but if you examine your work/productivity patterns, you can maximize those times. Morning Person vs. Night Owl People usually describe themselves as a morning or night person. But you don’t have to buy into your own stereotype: you can take some control over those energy cycles and be more productive at supposedly “down” times, because that self-talk can become self-fulfilling. In the “Flow” Published in 1991, Mihaly Csikszenmihalyi’s book “Finding the Flow – the Psychology of Optimal Experience,” is a concept that’s still applicable to work styles today. When you’re in the “flow,” you are so absorbed in a task that you lose sense of time, you … [Read more...] about How to Maximize Your Peak Working Hours

We all arrive in the office full of promise for the day ahead, we’ve got a clear list of tasks in our head, we know what needs to be done that day and we’ve got a rough idea of how we’re going to get it all done. For most of us those hopeful little plans last until about two minutes past nine by which time we’ve turned our emails on, been bombarded by clients and colleges asking if we could just squeeze this or that in and already had to field half a dozen phone calls. This is going to go on all day, and before you know it you haven’t got anything done that you actually wanted to get done. So just how do you change your working day from reactive to proactive? Turn off the email For most people who work in an office email will be the primary way of communication so check it in the morning then leave it alone until lunch time. Anything that is that important can be communicated through the phone so if it has been sent via email the chances are it can wait. As for those tasks that are … [Read more...] about 5 Ways To Make Your Working Day More Productive

So you’ve decided to quit your job? Whatever the reason for leaving, it isn’t always easy to leave gracefully. Many of us don’t like endings, even if it is a ‘positive’ ending and it can bring up all kinds of emotions. So regardless of the situation, how do you leave your role gracefully and in a way that makes you feel proud? Resign Obviously, this is the first thing you need to do when leaving your job. You will need to put this in writing in the form of a resignation letter. Keep it short, professional and positive, whatever the circumstance. You may want to let close colleagues know informally, but ensure that word doesn’t get out before you have a chance to tell your boss personally! Notice Your notice period will obviously depend on what is written in your contract so if you need to leave earlier than your contract states you will need to negotiate with your boss and vice versa. Being fair to the company you are leaving and making an effort to help them with the … [Read more...] about How To Leave Your Job Gracefully